Raptors In The Closet
by beautifulending21
Summary: I knew I was going to regret this, in one form or another. One: Non-stop complaints from my father for even trusting InGen for the second time. Two: A Raptor trainer by the name of Owen Grady. Three: History has a habit of repeating itself.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:**_ Branching off into a few new stories lately. This is my newest. And I hope you love it as much as I do. It's been on my mind for awhile and I'm finally putting it to words. So without further adieu, enjoy!

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal Studios, Jurassic Park book series/film series or any of its characters. Just Mel and the chaos I create.

* * *

You know how some people have skeletons in their closet? Okay, so its a figure of speech designed to allude to stuff in your past. I had that, with one major change. I had velociraptors in my closet. And a scar to go along with it. I was part of the first people to be introduced to dinosaurs after their de-extinction on Isla Nublar. My father took me along because he had no one to watch me. I was only 9 years old when I had one of the most traumatic experiences of my life.

Now, here I am 21 years old, finished my Doctorate in Paleontology and Animal Behavioral Analysis and I'm living in my Dad's basement. After I graduated in half the time, I began to receive job offers from Masrani Global. It hadn't made sense until I accepted an interview with Mr. Masrani himself.

"Dr. Melissa Grant, it is a pleasure to meet you." Mr. Masrani greeted me after I found his table in the upscale restaurant, in the VIP section. He was seated next to a man dressed in a fine suit with a leather briefcase next to him on the floor.

"Mr. Masrani, please, call me Mel. I only answer to Melissa when my father is cross with me." I joked, shaking his hand.

"Then, please call me Simon. Sit, I took the liberty of ordering you something. I hope you don't mind. I've done my research on you."

"Oh. What kind of research?"

"I am aware of the bit of information kept out of the newsreels in June of 1993. Regarding a trip to an island with your father, Dr. Al-"

"With all due respect, I don't like to talk about my… experience, up close and personal with the… raptors." I said, fingering the lingering reminder on my skin. A purplish-green scar extending from my collarbone to my shoulder was still visible under my mint blouse.

"I understand. It must have been a traumatic experience for you at such a young age."

"Well, my Dad thought it would be safe to bring me, since my mother had died four years previous and we had no other family to watch me. If we can, I'd like to move on from taking about that event."

"My proposal to you has everything to do with your experience Dr. Grant."

"Okay," I breathed, a very annoyed breath.

"Before we continue, I must ask you to sign an NDA." The man in the suit said, sliding a piece of paper across the table.

"Non-Disclosure? What kind of job is this?" I asked, looking to Mr. Masrani.

"One I can discuss with you after the paperwork is complete. I promise it will be worth it. However I must warn you, if you breech this contract you will be facing real jail time. I do not want to have to come after you Mel. Only if you are truly serious about accepting the position, you can only share the information with those we deem suitable to keep the secret."

After realizing how serious Mr. Masrani was abot this, I carefully read over the document. My Dad had almost been duped by several employers this way, and I was not about to go down like that. I hadn't even published yet.

"Okay," I said, picking up the fancy fountain pen, signing my life away and saying, "What have I just agreed to listen to?"

"I am building a theme park." He smiled, pausing for my reaction.

"You have now lost me."

"We will have attractions that blow anything else out of the water."

"And why do you nee-" I stopped, feeling my heart racing.

"InGen," I said, smacking my forehead, noticing the company name I hadn't thought about in years, printed neatly at the top of the Non-Disclosure Agreement.

"No, no, no." I breathed.

"I have more to explain Dr. Grant. I bought InGen from John Hammond's descendants. They wanted nothing to do with it, but I saw how things could be changed. I learned from the events on Isla Nublar in 1993, and on Isla Sorna in 1997 and 2001. It will be different."

"As my Uncle always says, "Nature finds a way.""

"Which is where you come in." He smiled.

"Surely you're joking?" I said as a plate of Cobb salad was placed in front of me.

"Why would I joke? I have the need for someone who knows how things will go wrong before they do. I need someone who has studied these animals and their behavior, and can predict what they are going to do."

"You picked me because of my experience with Jurassic Park." I said, trying to calm my raging heart rate.

"No. I picked you out of hundred's of Paleontologists, because you also have a doctorate in Animal Behavior Analysis. There were 4 others in the entire world. And when it was narrowed down to the five of you, I didn't want anyone else. I wanted the best."

"My father."

"No, Mel. You." He said making me furrow my brow.

"You, as a child, saw the horrors the first park created. I know it has stayed with you all this time. You also must be much smarter for graduating at the age of 21 from a program that can be 6-8 years long. You graduated high school at the age of 15! I want the best. I want you to be my Head of Veterinary Care and Park Safety."

"Care and Safety?"

"You will inspect each paddock before the animals are released inside, to ensure they won't escape, and that they are cared for. You will be overseeing a staff of 10 Veterinarians, our geneticists in the lab, to ensure the animals are being cared for properly, and the ACU."

"ACU?" I asked, as the lawyer handed over another piece of paper.

"Assest Containment Unit. We have security measure in place for such events as an asset escaping their enclosure, or wandering too close to the resort. And you will be in charge of how we handle those situations."

"Sounds like you've covered all the bases I would have argued," I said wryly.

"You are you fathers daughter," He joked, with a smile. I looked over the contract, noticing the accommodations would be provided for me. A bungalow, a company issued vehicle, and a budget for safety measures. Looking at the section by the bottom, my eyes bugged out.

"Am I reading that right?"

"That is your salary, plus moving expenses. We want you for the next 5 years, and then you can renew your contract if you so choose. I personally chose the number, without the board's approval," He chuckled.

"It's… I… I need your word that if something isn't right, you will let me fix it. That I have final say in how situations are handled."

"You have my word. And better yet, it's there in ink," He said pointing out the section I had overlooked. It did in fact say that I would gain control should something happen to Simon, or if I invoked the clause.

Picking up the pen, I thought about my father, and how he would kill me once I told him.

"Whatever happens, you make sure things aren't covered up. People still deserve to know how dangerous these creatures can be."

"That is what we are bringing you on for Mel."

"Then sign me up." I said, handing back the document, my name signed neatly on the dotted line.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**_ I've got a bumpy ride ahead. This already has 12 chapters written, but they all won't be set in 2015. The first two were set in 2005, and the next few will be in 2012-2013. I wanted to establish Mel on the island first before I got into anything romantic. Anyways, enjoy!

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park series or any of its characters. Just Mel and the chaos I create.

* * *

"You did what?" My father's voice said over the phone, in his calmly enraged tone.

"I took a job," I explained delicately, as I packed more boxes into the shipping container on the front lawn.

"I won't be home for another two weeks from this dig, and you're leaving without one last night with your old man."

"We both know I'm a big girl that can make her own decisions. Besides, once I'm set up, I'll try to take a weekend off to come visit the dig site. I'm leaving my key under the front rock, by the way."

"Keep it. Just in case." He said. It was his way of saying I was always welcome, and if I changed my mind, I always had a home to come back to.

"No need to get sentimental on me now Dad."

"Tell Ellie where you are going. I don't need another earful from her about your whereabouts and how you have been bumming around the house for months."

"Hardy har har. I will. I just texted Uncle Ian too. He wants to meet up with you the week you get back."

"I will call him. Just focus on packing. Where does this job take you anyway?"

"Classified. I can tell you once I get clearance from my boss to do so." I hated lying to him.

"Just promise me you'll text me when you arrive there safely."

"Better yet, I'll send you a picture and a text," I laughed.

"Fine. I love you sweetheart."

"Love you too Dad," I smiled as I put the last of the boxes in the container. Ending the call, I started to move my bike into the empty part of the container, strapping it down and closing the doors. An hour later, I watched all my possessions leave on the back of a truck, and I got a cab to the airport.

At the airport, I checked into a hotel for the night, as I was set to leave the very next morning at 6:30am with a layover in Fort Lauderdale, and then on to San Jose, in Costa Rica. From there, I had an hour and half drive to Punta Arenas, the port where a ferry would take me to Isla Nublar, for the first time in 23 years.

"Oh joy," I said to myself as I fell asleep.

* * *

After travelling for over 10 hours to get to the island, I was glad my memories of the heat stayed with me all these years. Not drowning in sweat as I arrived on the island, I was greeted by a man by the name of John. He drove me through dense back roads to get to my little bungalow, where a company car was already waiting for me. I saw only one other bungalow next to my own little lake, but it did not seem inhabited.

After I had dropped off my stuff off, John took me back towards the port, but took a recently paved road suddenly. As the trees started thinning, I could see the beginning of the resort. It was not as small as the last one. Buildings were still under construction, some completed and waiting for businesses to move in. Others, like Starbucks, had already been settled and for that I was thankful. If I had to go without coffee, I would surely strangle someone before my first day even started.

"The Command Centre," I saw after we passed a sign that explained the road was restricted to authorized personnel only. John stopped in front of the large building and I thanked him for the ride.

"My number, for when you want to get home. Hopefully they gave you maps and a GPS in your truck." He said, handing me a card. I smiled, "I don't tend to get lost, but it never hurt anyone to be prepared. Thanks John. I'll call when I'm ready."

"Sure thing. I've got to go oversee something in the lab. Just down the road and inside the big triangular building."

"It looks like a volcano," I joked.

"Huh, so it does," He smiled, before I closed the door. I heard him drive away as I approached the building. A man came out before I could open the door and he said, "Dr. Grant. It's an honor to meet you."

"Uh, thanks." I said, shaking his hand awkwardly.

"Oh, I'm Lowery Cruthers. I'm the overpaid IT guy, and occasional button pusher."

"Operations, right?" I said as he gestured for me to follow him.

"Yeah, it's really boring around here right now though. No dinos yet to track." He joked.

"I just hope things don't repeat themselves." I muttered under my breath.

"Ah, Mel. I trust your trip was enjoyable."

"Yes, thank you for upgrading my seat to Business. I thought I was gonna have to sit in front of that 'annoying child' that would kick the seat in front of him for the duration of the flights. It would have been just my luck anyways."

"You got your stuff dropped off?"

"Yeah. I'm ready to get to work." I smiled, noticing the window overlooking the resort.

"I have an office for you here. I have yet to hire a Director of Operations. They will be in charge of staff, the books and the day to day functions of the resort and its occupants. It's a job I may need you to do in the meantime."

"And what is my position on the food chain?" I asked jokingly.

"They will report to you, and you report to me. One handles the resort and the business side of things, and you handle the dinosaurs, safety, and-"

"Care. And you don't handle dinosaurs. They aren't circus animals. They are giant creatures that don't know how they fit into our world, and will need to be observed carefully. After the first round of dinosaurs has been produced, I would like to strictly be in the field with them, observing them."

"We can set aside time for that later. Now, would you like to go imprint on the first of our baby dinosaurs?" he asked, and I grinned.

"Yes please." I said, as he showed me my office. Setting down my laptop, a picture of my Dad and I at the dig site in Montana from 8 years ago, and my PhD on the desk, I slipped out my phone to take a picture and sent it to my Dad.

 _Made it safely. Promise to call around dinner-time. Turns out we are in the same time zone. – Mel_

 _You're still in the US?- Dad_

 _No, but I will explain later.- Mel_

"Let's go watch some babies being born." I said, wondering how my time here would play out.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Major time jump ahead. I'm having this set around 2005 when Jurassic World actually opened in the movie. And then we move on to when Owen joined the fold. I promise the next chapters will be longer. Hope you liked it. Let me know?


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N:**_ Here comes the time jump! From 2005 to 2012. No Owen until next chapter ;) And I may post that later today or tomorrow if I get a review or two. Enjoy though!

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters. Just Melissa and the chaos I create.

* * *

 ** _March 2012_**

We opened the summer of 2005, mere months after the first round of dinosaurs were hatched. After working out a system with Simon, I would spend every other day observing the animals, and the rest was spent making a safety manual, with rules and procedures to follow in case of emergencies. When we first opened, my name was mentioned in the ad, to promote the parks authenticity. My father didn't accept my calls for almost a year when he got word. Ellie finally helped bring him around, so did Uncle Ian.

The next seven years, I was busy day in and day out. I barely had time to sleep, let alone socialize. It was 3 years into my job, that Simon noticed I was barely holding myself together, doing the job of both the Director of Operations and Director of Animal Care and Safety.

And that's when he hired Claire Dearing.

Honestly, I didn't hate the woman. But I kind of wanted her to remove the stick up her ass and quit talking about the dinosaurs as if they were numbers on a spreadsheet. We got along at work, and we would see each other outside of work and chat. She just never seemed to relax.

"Mel! Get out here!" Lowery yelled.

"What is it now?" I said and I ran out of my office.

"Handler called it in. Trike with her head stuck in a fallen log. Says it's Trixie."

"Claire, please close down the Valley," I said, noticing it would be in a very open spot.

"Of course." She said and she and Lowery got on it.

"Trixie, you never learn. Vivian, call Hamada and tell him I'm on my way, and that we need an MVU and a team to help get it off her." I said grabbing my sun hat and preparing myself for the onslaught of heat as I ran out towards the front doors. I was blasted by a wall of humidity before I had the chance to jump in my G-Class and turn on the AC.

"Hamada to Mama Bear. Come in Mama Bear."

"Go for Mama Bear," I replied over the radio in my car.

"On route to enclosure. West Plains have been secured. Come in on East trailhead."

"Copy that. Mama Bear on route." I said, putting the radio back. I looked out the window for a second at the resort, and faintly heard the roar of Rexy in the distance. I shuddered, thinking back to the last time I had looked into her eyes, and the petrified state it put me in. Shaking my head clear I focused on Trixie, and making it to the clearing.

"Hey Mama Bear, didn't think you'd take so long. She is your favorite," Hamada joked as the MVU came barreling in behind me.

"She's done this one too many times. I should be expecting once a week honestly," I said walking slowly up to my girl. The head of the Triceratops was lodged into a large hole she had made with said head, but the rest of the tree seemed to be thicker and harder for her to break. She looked like one of those dogs that got their head stuck in garbage can lids

"Trix?" I said and she seemed to calm down. How her head got in there, I will never know. Her body relaxed as she saw me, and I gently patted her snout, avoiding the sharp horns.

"Are you going to behave?" I said softly, looking at the damage it had caused on her skin. Slight abrasions but nothing major.

"We need to put you under girl. I'll be there when you wake up," I said, signaling the vet to administer the tranq. She seemed to panic slightly and I calmed her down.

"Hush little one. I've got you," I said, stroking her as the needle went in. She slumped forward slightly, causing me to jump back from being crushed by her head.

"Now, how are we going to get it off of her?" Hamada asked.

"Did you bring the chainsaw?" I asked.

"You want to risk that?" The vet, Jenna, questioned.

"I want someone at either end of the log with lights. Right now, I want to make this log smaller on either side of her head, before we proceed."

"Can you grab the hoist? I want to pull her leg back a bit," I signaled to Miller.

"Yes ma'am," He said, as I marked out on the tree with my knife where to cut. After two hours, the tree was finally cut from her neck and the wood thrown into the forest to decompose.

"Thanks guys." I said waving to the Mobile Vet Unit, and watching as the ACU loaded up their gear and the guys piled in the van.

"Mel, you coming to the bar tonight?"

"Seeing as tomorrow is Saturday and I don't have to work… officially…. I guess I am."

"Okay, so, 7pm?" Hamada said, and I smiled.

"After I feed Freddy, I'll be there with bells on." I chuckled.

"You named your fish Freddy?" He asked in disbelief.

"Don't ask. It's a long story," I said as he waved and the ACU took off towards the East trailhead. Calling Claire I said, "We're good now."

"Wonderful. Dr. Wu was also wishing to speak to you about something. I believe he wants to introduce a new breed to the park."

"Oh joy. He knows how much paperwork that's going to create for me. I swear he does it to annoy me," I joked.

"I can only imagine how that feels," She said a slight smile in her voice.

"Okay. I won't be coming back tonight. I'm just going to head for the Innovation Center and then head home."

"Have a good night," She responded.

"You should come out to the bar with us tonight," I offered, extending the olive branch.

"I've got paperwork, and so do you."

"Shit, I forgot about that. Well, I'll do it when I get home and drop it off before I go to the bar."

"Whose driving you back out to the Bungalow?" She asked.

"Lowery already said he'd be designated driver this weekend."

"Weekend?"

"Oh, I have a feeling that whatever Wu has in mind, I'm gonna need a lot more than one night of drinking."

"Okay, okay." She laughed.

"Gotta go. Trixie's coming to," I said noticing the dino stirring a few feet from me.

"Hey girl," I said softly, watching her eyes recognize me. I left a few minutes later, after she had calmed down some and I had been able to leave without her groaning after me. Quickly making my way back to the resort, I pulled up to the Innovation Center, surprised to see Simon at the entrance.

"Simon, it must be big if you are here to help convince me," I said greeting him warmly.

"Mel, this is big!" He said excited.

"I'm sure it is. Just as it was when you and Wu brought up the idea of another carnivore."

"No amount of pleading can make you budge on the Baryonx," He chuckled.

"It's much better than a Baryonx," Wu said, as we walked towards the stairs he was currently on.

"Okay. I'll believe you when I'm convinced, and not a second sooner." I smiled as we all walked up to Dr. Wu's office and he closed the door.

"I want to assure you we have thought this next attraction through. And we know there are risks, but with a secure enough paddock, and the right handler, this could be one of the more lucrative attractions yet." Dr. Wu explained, typing something onto his computer and turning the screen for me to see the finished Genome mapping.

"Wait, is this-"

"Velociraptor."

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ What do you think?


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N:**_ So apparently I couldn't count. I promised Owen in this chapter and I lied unintentionally. Owen is in the NEXT chapter. But this sets up for the next chapter! It's still good. Let me know what you think.

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters. Just Mel and the chaos I create.

* * *

After having a full blown panic attack in Dr. Wu's office, where Simon called for medical because I was not calming down. Vivian came to sit with me in Medical while I was passed out from lack of oxygen. Guess that happens when you hyperventilate. Never did get to the bar that night, because after I was cleared by Medical, I was sent home to rest.

"Daddy?" I asked as I answered my cell phone.

"Mr. Masrani called me to tell me what happened. Do I need to come?"

"Dad, I know you don't want to be anywhere near this island." I said as I flopped onto my couch with my bottle of tequila.

"I will, just to make sure you're not alone."

"I'll be fine Dad. Just need a good night sleep and the rest of this tequila."

"What happened?"

"I just got spooked by Rexy." I lied.

"No, Mr. Masrani said you were discussing work and when they brought up Velociraptors, you acted like you were experiencing PTSD flashbacks."

"Okay, I didn't know I could tell you that." I sighed.

"How's your scar? It's not hurting, is it?"

"No. Only when it rains," I said, taking a swig of tequila.

"Why are they discussing Raptors?" He asked.

"Dad, I have the authority to shut it down at any time. Let me be the judge, jury and executioner on this one." I bit out.

"Mel, I'm only looking out for you on this one. I don't want you to be having attacks everyday because you know they are on the island."

"Even if this goes through, they have to build a secure paddock, and it has to be up to my standards. And if anything, I wouldn't be the one to oversee their handling. I couldn't be there everyday."

"I think I need to come."

"No Dad, this island doesn't need to cripple the both of us."

"My daughter needs me. I'll stay for a bit, and you can show me around. Even if I don't agree with your decision to be there, I know it would have happened without you. Your mother would expect me to be there for you." He said, and I bit back a sob.

"Daddy, she's been gone since I was 5. The dead don't have feelings. _Especially_ overdosed druggies."

"Melissa," My Dad said, and I sighed.

"I'm not going to apologize. She left. She overdosed Dad. She didn't want us." I said, "I'm not going to mourn someone who didn't care."

"She was still your mother."

"Biologically yes. Technically, Ellie is my mother. She was there, and she cared about me."

"Speaking of Ellie, did you tell her yet?" I asked, uncertain that I wanted the answer.

"She is your mother," He joked.

"Oh joy."

* * *

My father didn't end up coming, as he got caught up at the university and called to another dig site. It was a month later that I drew up plans for the Raptor Paddock. If Dr. Wu was going to be persistent, I was going to be thorough. A perfectionist really, analyzing every detail for even the slightest flaw.

"We aren't using the same code for each raptor. Each one will be unique. We just want to see which one comes as close to the original breed." He said, clearly enamored with the idea of raptors.

"When do you think they'll be ready?" I said, eyeing the computer.

"We can have the eggs ready in a month. We just want to change a few details."

"These are already deadly creatures Dr. Wu. I've been at the mercy of one. Robert Muldoon, Mr. Arnold, both died from these creatures."

"Which is why we have them imprint on their handler." He explained.

"Are you insane?" I said lowly, "Have you completely lost your mind? These things are lethal at 6 months, and you want to put someone in there with them?"

"How high do you plan to have the walls?" he asked, unfazed by my questions.

"They were able to jump over 15 feet, last I saw. So I wanted to make them 20-25, just as a precaution. Like… Rexy."

"They need some low vegetation to hide behind."

"Ferns. Nothing higher than 5 feet." I said, laying down the law. "They need to be visible at all times."

"I want 8 raptors."

"2." I said.

"6," He challenged.

"2." I said.

"4 then." He said folding his arms over his chest. I thought about it. They were pack hunters. Would that be too many still?

"I'll consider it." I said, laying out the plans to show Simon and Dr. Wu.

"It's is rather amusing, watching you two bicker." Simon chuckled under his breath.

"I cannot even begin to tell you how much I despise this idea. So, if this has to happen, I get to chose our…handlers."

"Handlers? As in plural?"

"Raptors are pack hunters. Two sets of eyes to every raptor or this is shut down until you see things my way." I said, my voice making my decree final.

"You're the boss." Simon smirked and I could feel Dr. Wu's hatred for me in that moment. I rolled my eyes slightly, and said, "I have several candidates in mind, and will be flying out to meet with them once construction of the paddock is underway, and I can watch the foundation being laid."

"How big will this paddock be?"

"For now, I want an octagon. When and if they don't kill each other, we can talk about expanding the paddock. But I want foundation below the ground, another 10 -15 feet to ensure they can't dig their way out."

"We shouldn't assume the worst."

"Really? Cause I wish someone had assumed the worst the first time around," I growled out, getting in Henry's face. He took a deep breath and said, "I meant in regards to them escaping."

"I don't care how this might be defined as overreacting. I want back up generators next to the paddock, failsafe's on the gates. Two gates this time. One to an inner door, where there will be cages to contain them, should any personnel need to enter the paddock. The genetic code of each dinosaur will be different, so I don't expect them to like each other at first. Each one will seem like a threat. If they are kept together since infancy, they have a higher chance of bonding to each other, versus killing each other."

"You will be overseeing them?" Dr. Wu said

"No. As you may have noticed, I don't take too well to the idea of raptors. And I'm very sure the last one that got too close to me could smell how terrified I was. They are wondrous creatures that I will not be interacting with, unless forced." I said, looking to Simon.

"We will start construction in a week then. I already had Claire pick the location. Does this part of the island feel secure enough for you? Not anywhere close to the resort, but close enough that it's within a 15 minute drive." Simon said, pointing at the map of Isla Nublar and I nodded.

"Now," Dr. Wu said gaining my attention, "Can I have a time frame for when I can start creating embryos?"

"When I have my team here, and not a minute sooner." I said, giving my best bitch face.

* * *

A/N: Let me know what you think! Reviews equal chapters ;)


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N:**_ And here it is! We meet Owen for the first time, and its not disappointing. Typical lady charmer. Let me know how you liked it!

 _ **Disclaimer:** _ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters.

* * *

Watching them dig the hole for the foundation was cathartic for me. It was soothing knowing they wouldn't be getting out. Don't ask how I knew, I just did. These raptors wouldn't be getting out on my watch. I ended up hiring several new handlers, just to be our last resort team.

"I'm looking for a Mr. Grady?" I called at the VA center in DC. A man yelled out, "Owen."

"Pardon me?" I asked, taking in the man playing pool. Walking towards him, I noticed he was dressed kind of like a frat boy, but a tad bit more grown up. An off white t-shirt, with black and army green boardshorts. On his feet were flip flops, but he certainly had an air about him, where he had seen hard times.

"Name's Owen. Mr. Grady was my father."

"Okay then Owen. I assume you know who I am."

"Dr. Melissa Grant. Yeah, your assistant set up this interview."

"I would have had you come to me, but that's a little silly to have you travel to Costa Rica for me to turn you down for the job."

"Already turning me down? I haven't even broken out the pick up lines yet." He smirked and my heart did a little flutter.

"My name is Mel. I have only been called Melissa when I accepted my PhD and when my father is cross with me."

"Okay then Mel. What kind of job at Jurassic World, do you need a Navy man for?"

"I know you have previous experience in Animal training and behavior. You trained the dolphins for the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program. And before that you worked training SWAT, drug and bomb detecting dogs."

"You need me to train dinosaurs?" He said, handing me a pool cue. I sighed and said, "Highly intelligent dinosaurs. Highly lethal dinosaurs."

"Not really selling this job," He smirked, and I looked into his eyes for the first time. I was shocked with how blue they were. Shaking my head internally, I said, "I want you to be aware of the dangers before you accept. I was not given the same opportunity sadly."

"Okay then, how about we go out for dinner and you can tell me the rest." He smiled, and I'm very sure if I hadn't given my head a shake I would have fallen for it.

"I have exactly 1 hour to convince you and then I turn around and head to Montana. Dinner will not be on the table, Mr. Grady."

"Why do you call me Mr? I said, it's Owen."

"Owen," I said nicely, "I would like you to come train… Raptors."

"Like the Toronto Raptors?" He joked, and I swallowed thickly. His eyes travelled down to my collarbone and his smiled disappeared.

"I'm sorry. That must have been painful."

"I would rather not talk about it," I said but then he pulled up his shirt. I was confused until I saw the blaringly obvious scar.

"Large piece of shrapnel. Should have died, just about did."

"I'm glad you didn't." I said awkwardly.

"Same to you." He replied gruffly.

"Please consider my offer M- Owen. It's not something to jump into blindly."

"Will you be there?" He smiled, flirting again.

"No."

"Too busy running a theme park."

"I have over 200 animals that I care for and tend too. As well as overlooking each enclosure, inspecting them for vulnerabilities and what could go wrong. It's my job to be overly cautious. I need to know how things will go wrong before they do."

"Sounds exhausting."

"Tequila helps."

"Maybe if I take this job, you'll show me the best bars," He flirted again.

"I only know one that's good. For everything else, I prefer not to get drunk in front of my staff."

"I'd be under you then? I like the sound of that." He smirked. I wanted to roll my eyes.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" I said, starting to get annoyed.

"No, but I'm prepared to kiss you with it." He said, giving me a panty-dropping smile. I closed my eyes and wished this wasn't happening.

"Now I'm leaving. Goodbye Mr. Grady."

"How do I contact you, if I want the job?"

"My assistant Zara," I said, "I share her with the Director of Operations, so use my name specifically."

"Does this include housing? I don't exactly have a summer home in Costa Rica." He asked, and I turned to walk back to him.

"Yes. A apartment in our staff housing complex." And he fake winced.

"I'm not great with people."

"So I heard from your last two CO's."

"What's the salary?"

"Here is a description of the job, salary included at the bottom right hand corner. Plus relocation expenses."

"Huh. I could use a vacation at the same time as working. What's the weather like year round."

"Humid, stupidly so. T-shirt and shorts weather. Be prepared to burn for the first two months, no matter how much sunscreen you apply."

"Cool. I can be packed up in a week." He said and I was floored.

"Just like that?"

"Sometimes, I like a challenge." He said, and I had a feeling there was a double meaning behind it.

"O-Okay then. Welcome aboard Owen. I will call Zara and have everything set up for you. She will handle booking your flight and arranging transport of any belongings you want on the island."

"Can I take my bike?"

"I shipped mine in a storage container, so I assume so." I said and his eyes lit up.

"Do you want to go for a ride when I get there? Show me the sights?"

"I'll have to think about that one." I said and I just walked away.

"I wish you good luck Owen, and I pray you don't need it."

* * *

"Mom, he was just so arrogant. But cute. I can't be his boss. He'll drive me crazy." I said as I gently brushed dirt off of the bones of a Thescelosaurus they had discovered a week previous.

"You said the same thing about Thomas when you were 8." Ellie laughed as my Dad tried hard not to listen.

"Thomas grew up to be an asshole anyways. Major turn off. This guys knows he's handsome, but I can't do anything about it," Mouthing 'asshole' due to the children around us.

"Why not? He's cute, from how you described him. Why do you think it won't work?" Ellie said, brushing the hair back on 13-year-old Christine, her second child from her marriage to Mark Degler.

"Because he's gonna turn out to be an asshole." I said, mouthing asshole again.

"Melly, what's that?" Christine said, and I smiled.

"That is the… toe. I would tell you the technical term, but it's long and hard to pronounce."

"Why don't I see you anymore?" She said, and I sighed.

"I work now Little Doe. I can try and come out more often, but it's a long trip to make."

"Why can't I come visit you? My friends would be so jealous. My sister runs Jurassic World!" Christine said excited, and I shut that down quickly.

"Christine, your parents wouldn't like you travelling all that way by yourself. And I'm not sure Mom would be willing to come back to the island."

"But I'd be good! I can save up money for the trip, and I promise I wouldn't get in your way."

"I don't think it's in the cards right now Little Doe," I said and she sighed. Ellie rescued me by saying, "Your father and I will talk about it. No promises."

"Where were we? Oh yes, we were recovering a skeleton," My Dad said, upset by all the talk of my work.

"Sorry Dr. Grant." I said, getting back to work. I only stayed a day more before heading back to Costa Rica. Simon had lent me the company jet for the travels, as it was work related. But my own flight to and from Montana was out of my own pocket. As soon as I got back, I heard the latest gossip. InGen had hired a new Head of Security.

Without my approval.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ What did you think? :)


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N:**_ I can't believe the week took so long to go by. So, happy 4th of July to my American readers, and happy belated Canada Day to my fellow Canadians. And for the other countries, I'm sorry to say I don't know your national days, but I will look them up. Doesn't do any harm to research things now and then. Or in my case, every day for fun.

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters. Just Mel and the chaos I create with her.

* * *

I basically camped out at the paddock, overseeing the building, the electrical, the testing of fences, failsafe's, the generators. Anything that could go wrong was tested. Even the stupidest things, I tested for. The walkway was constructed within a day of Owen Grady's arrival. As I suspected, I was not the welcoming crew. But he did manage to find me, in the last place I expected.

"Hey neighbor," I heard as I was sunbathing in the warmth of the sunset, a bottle of tequila at my side as I dangled my feet in the small lake off my dock.

"Oh no," I whispered to myself. Turning I found him being dropped off, with a bag in one hand and a guitar case in the next.

"Let me guess, you asked for the most secluded place, because you don't like people." I said, taking another swig of alcohol.

"Nah, they haven't finished the expansion on the employee housing complex. This is temporary. But I might ask it to be permanent," He said, sitting beside me and taking the bottle from my hands.

"Hey, get your own," I said, as he took a swig.

"Oh, you like the good stuff."

"It's the only thing that burns enough." I said, plucking the bottle from his hands.

"So boss lady, I still need that tour."

"Ugh, it's my day off tomorrow. Ask someone else." I said sourly.

"You're in a bad mood," He laughed.

"No, just toasting myself to another year of not dying." I said, lightly touching the scar on my collarbone.

"It's been how many years?" He asked quietly.

"19."

"You were how old again?" Awkwardly.

"9." I bit out.

"Sorry. I realize this is the wrong way to find out more about you. Maybe I'll just unpack, and you can finish your… I don't even know. Goodnight Mel."

"Night."

* * *

The next day was restful for me. Not just because I woke up without a hangover, but because I wasn't asked to come in for anything. I was able to finish my smaller projects, and make my way up to the nearly completed pen. Dr. Wu wanted to start the embryos within the next day, and the eggs would take about a month to hatch. Owen was already up there, casing the paddock and getting himself introduced to all the extra handlers and workers.

"Ah, Mel Bel. Finally joined the party."

"Grady." I said, sighing at the sight of the pens. He followed my line of sight and said, "So, when do I meet them?"

"After they hatch. You… as much as I hate the idea, will be there for them to imprint on. I want to try and see if they will respond to you as their Alpha."

"Versus the Beta? Can I name them?"

"You name things, you get attached. So if you're 100% on naming them, knock yourself out." I said, moving to get a better look at the modular coming in for office space.

"Andy! I want those connected in the next half hour," I yelled down to my head of construction.

"Sure thing Dr. Grant."

"Jack! Jack! JACK!" I yelled, getting a hold of the crane operator's attention.

"Don't be an idiot. Use your spotters. You nearly hit my car!" I said and he looked around the load he had nervously, to spot my vehicle.

"Come on Jackie," Andy said, shaking his head at him.

"You're pretty important 'round here."

"When you have most of the island reporting to you, yeah, I would consider that. But I'm here for the animals, not the people." I explained, watching as they placed the modular.

"Dr. Grant. Vic Hoskins," A man said coming up beside me to shake my hand.

"Mr. Hoskins. I understand you were hired as InGen's new Head of Security."

"And you're the little lady they were too afraid of to do so."

"For good reason," I smirked.

"I just want you to know that I don't report to you. I report to Masrani."

"And any reporting to Masrani, has to go through me. I don't roll over for anyone, especially bullies. So anything you have to say to Masrani, goes through me."

"Step away from the lady," Owen said, as Vic took a step closer towards me, trying to intimidate me.

"Didn't catch your name," Vic said, scowl slipping form his face.

"Owen Grady."

"You're a Veteran, huh? You need to keep some muscle around sweetheart?"

"Listen Hoskins, I don't know who you have on your side, but I can assure you. I have animals that love me and listen to my commands. Have you ever been trampled by a herd of Triceratops? I've seen it. The handler died because he didn't respect the animals. He used brute force against an immovable object, eight times his size. So, don't mess with me. You may have been hired for Security, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. You are guarding the secrets of InGen, nothing more. This isn't the military, where you're guarding our nation. These are living wonders that companies would love to replicate, but they don't understand. Don't think for a minute that you are higher and mightier than anyone else her because you had military training. You are nothing more than a glorified mall cop."

"Phew, little spitfire, ain't she?" Vic said, smiling at Owen like I wasn't even there.

"Hoskins, I have more than enough sway with the board of Directors to have your employment terminated on the grounds of sexual harassment, and gender discrimination alone. Not to mention the way you seemed to try and intimidate me by using your body, as if to make yourself bigger. I can assure you I will not be dealing with you on a one on one basis again."

"I can testify to that." Owen said, and Vic narrowed his eyes at me.

"So, are you ready to submit to the fact I am your superior?" I said, eyes flashing. His upper lip sneered at me and turned to leave before he could make a bigger problem.

"He seemed pleasant." Owen said, trying to relieve the tension.

"I read up on him. He's been an asshole all his life. I wasn't about to let him get his foot in the door of doing the same thing here."

"How can one person be that bad?" He said, and I smirked up at him.

"Thank you for having my back. You didn't have to do that. I can hold my own."

"I know. I witnessed it. I just wanted him to know that I was still watching. Makes guys nervous when another guys doesn't ignore their behavior."

"Again, thank you."

"If you want to thank me, let me take you out for dinner tonight."

"Owen, I am still your boss."

"I know. But until these things are born, you aren't." He smiled.

"Owen, don't make me report you for sexual harassment." I said, half teasing.

"Okay okay. Just don't be surprised if I keep asking you. Once a day, until you agree."

"As if you have the patience." I challenged.

"Fine. We'll make it a bet then. If I can get you to cave within a year, I get to take you anywhere I want on the island, for dinner."

"And if I don't cave in a year, you stop asking. And if I want to, I have to ask you."

"Deal."

"You are going to lose," I smirked, walking down the stairs to watch the modular being completely hooked up.

"I don't bet on things I can't win at," He said, that panty-dropping smile coming into play.

Oh brother.

* * *

A/N: How was that? :)


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N:**_ So I need to explain something. The title was not something I made up. It was actually my husband. When he first saw Jurassic Park as a kid, he had nightmares about velociraptors being in his closet and chasing him through a parking lot. I was going with something else entirely, but he suggested it, and it sounded funny enough. And then it just kind of... worked. So, long story shirt. I will listen to all of my husband's ideas. Except for the one about adding a Chupacabra to this fic. I will shut that down every time. Enjoy!

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of it's characters. Just Mel.

* * *

Within two months, the eggs had been incubated and ready for hatching. I stood behind Owen, being the only two people in the room, for the birth of the raptors. Owen had to wear gloves when handling them, because we didn't know how susceptible to human diseases they would be. He named the first Blue, then Charlie, Delta and Echo. I noticed their eyes wandering over to me at times, and I had to force myself to breathe. They were lethal at 6 months, not 2 hours old.

Owen took to sleeping in the modular office, to keep close to the girls, in case they needed something. I simply stayed behind the bars and watched him train them. No one else could interfere, so radio silence was a must. After they turned 6 months, Owen had to start feeding them from the walkway, as they were too dangerous to be around. He asked me to hire a friend of his, named Barry, because he needed another set of eyes on the training, and I wasn't willing to do it.

As promised, everyday for almost 8 months, Owen asked me out. I turned him down, time and time again, but continued to enjoy his company whenever I could see him. Sometimes it was only in the morning on my way into the Command center. Other times it was at the bar, when I was hanging out with my ACU guys. And most of the time, it was when I was just getting home, and he was in front of his bungalow, working on his bike.

One night, I couldn't take the heat anymore, and needed to cool off. Padding out of my bungalow awhile after dinner, and a bit of tequila, I slipped out of the towel I had around my body and ran towards the dock. Taking a deep breath at the end, I launched off the dock and cut through the water.

"Should you be swimming drunk?" He called from his bungalow as I resurfaced.

"Probably not." I laughed.

"And I'm not drunk!" I yelled.

"Sure thing. I'll believe you when I don't have to fish you out of the water. You were swaying as you ran."

"Hah. Fish. Water." I giggled.

"Not making a great impression of yourself boss lady." He said, offering an arm. I refused it, turning to backstroke my way across the lake.

"How about I come in after you if you don't get out." He said, putting his arms across his chest.

"Can't make me."

"I feel like I'm talking to a child."

"Well, how about you stop treating me like one," I yelled.

"Mel, come on. You aren't being safe."

"Safe is my middle-" I started before I got a mouthful of water. Spitting it out and trying to play it off, I realized I was making an ass out of myself. Before I could clear my throat of the water, I felt an arm snake around my waist and yank me up.

"Mel," He said as I tried to clear my lungs.

"I'm good." I said, gasping for air after I expelled the water. It had sobered me up quite quickly, and I watched his eyes become more concerned as he wrapped my towel around my body.

"Mel, what were you thinking?" He said, and I smiled.

"It is still hot out. I wanted to cool off."

"Then stay inside with the air conditioning." He said, like I was crazy.

"This is refreshing," I said, laying my head against his chest, suddenly tired from my choking experience.

"Come on. Let's go out." He said, picking me up and carrying me to my bungalow. Directing him to my room, he set me down and closed the door so I could change in privacy. Slipping on some jean shorts that were not appropriate for work, and a tank top that clung to my skin, I opened the door to Owen waiting for me. He took my hand and walked me out the door. I expected him to take me to his bike so we could go somewhere with air conditioning, but he led me over to his bungalow. He opened his door and I smelt food upon entering.

"Oh," I said, noticing the table set up for two.

"Finally got you to agree to go out with me." He smirked, jokingly.

"Not technically. I didn't say yes." I smiled.

"But still holds if you sit down," He said, taking something out of the fridge and setting it on the table. I noticed he was dressed in a clean t-shirt and nicer shorts.

"You're right on that one," I said, sighing. Before I could change my mind, I sat down. His smile lit up the room, and I blushed.

"Okay. Anywhere you'd like to go, you can take me." I conceded.

"Honestly, I'd feel better doing this away from a crowd. I can really get to know you now, honestly."

"What else do you want to know?" I said as he put the plate of grilled steak down on the table.

"Everything you feel comfortable telling me. The rest will come with time."

"How about you start? I only know what I could find as far as your military background, and accomplishments."

"Okay then. My mom was a living in New London when she met my father at a bar. 9 months later, I came into the world. Dad took off when I was 6, as he had a gambling problem. Mom died when I was 23, during one of my tours. I didn't find out until after the funeral. Finished my second tour, and here I am."

"I'm sorry." I said, as we dished up. I had to hand it to him, the boy could cook.

"Your turn."

"Parents married shortly before I came into the world. My mom was a doctor, and Dad was my hero. I wanted to be just like him when I grew up. Mom took off before my fourth birthday, with most of the money set aside for my college fund. Bought more drugs with the money. Overdosed before my fifth birthday. Dad stopped teaching in the Universities for awhile, taking care of me. When I was eight, he met Ellie, and she brought back the spark of life in his eyes."

"After Jurassic Park, Ellie and my Dad needed some time to process what had happened. But I knew that I didn't have anytime to lose. I studied harder, graduated early, got into university without needing the pre-requisites, because I had done those at the time of graduating high school. And then Simon Masrani found me in Ithaca, New York."

"And here you are," He said.

"Now, if you don't mind me asking, what happened here 19 years ago? I hear stories but none of it seems real."

"It's a nightmare I relive everyday. I know it better than anyone. Ellie and Uncle Ian blocked it out, and Dad ignores it. But I'm here, reliving and reliving, every time I hear Rexy roar, or see the raptor's eyes. It's a never ending loop that I don't want to subject anyone to."

"It started off magically. A helicopter ride along this beautiful coast, and Dad away from the dig site. He was instantly floored by the Brachiosaurus herd on our way to the old Visitor's Centre."

"Once we had the interactive tour of the Centre and media show about how they even got the dinosaurs DNA, we saw Raptor eggs hatch in their lab. I tried to hold the one that had hatched, but my father wouldn't let me as soon as we figured out what it was."

"It was after a lunch with John Hammond, in which the adults argued the very existence of the park, that I met Lex and Tim. From there, we got into the remote controlled Jeep's, and started the tour. We went by Rexy's enclosure first, only to be disappointed. And we couldn't see the Dilophasaurus's either, due to the foliage. And then I saw a Trike up close for the first time. She was beautiful, and I was in love."

"And a storm was rolling in, so we got back in the cars. Now, Nedry was the tech that was setting up everything on the island. He was also dirty. He tried to steal the embryos in kryo to give to another company. Died before he could, but he shutdown the park so that they'd be so focused on getting the power back on for the perimeter fences, that they wouldn't notice he had bugged the system and taken the embryos."

"As we were stopped in front of Rexy's pen, Lex, Timmy and I were all with the laywer to John Hammond, Donald Gennaro. When Rexy escaped, Donald fled to hide in the bathroom and Lex wouldn't stop waving the flashlight around. So she saw us. Tim and I were stuck in the car when she sent it over the edge. My father and Lex got us out, only for us to be stranded. It took us a whole day to get back to the Centre, avoiding the carnivores, hiding from Rexy, and climbing electric fences."

"After we made it back to the Centre, and Dad left us to eat in the dinning hall. It was Lex that spotted the raptors first, signaling for us to move. We ducked into the kitchen, and we managed to evade them for a short time, but when I moved to escape the first one, the second saw me. I fell backwards, and giving it just enough time to jump close enough to swipe at me. Starting from my collarbone to my shoulder. It sliced through my skin like butter. I sort of blacked out after that first wave of pain."

"Then Rexy showed up and apparently saved us from being eaten by the Raptors, as my father carried me out of the Centre to an awaiting car. It took us to the dock, where a helicopter took us to the mainland. My father was holding pressure on my chest for almost an hour. Six surgeries later, I was healed of the physical pain, but not the emotional. The only reminder of my experience is my scar. The doctors didn't know what was wrong with the wound. My Dad chalked it up to being some Cretaceous period virus that had been in the DNA Dr. Wu used. It caused the discoloration to the scar tissue."

"I'm sorry," He said, taking my free hand lightly.

"It's getting better. Who knew facing my fears could be so therapeutic?" I joked.

"I would say most of the world." He smirked.

"Well, this 'date' has been weird," I smirked.

"I wouldn't say that. I've actually enjoyed opening up to you."

"It's been… challenging, for me at least. I never really talked to my Dad about the experience. He blames himself for getting too caught up in the excitement, to see the imminent danger it posed. He would have never taken me, or anyone else."

"He told me as much after it happened." I said putting my fork down, and leaning back.

"So, what do you like to do in your spare time?" Owen said, changing the subject.

"I like to observe the animals in the Valley." I smiled.

"Really? That sounds like work."

"No, I love watching them. Trixie especially."

"Trixie?" He asked.

"A triceratops." I explained, "I was the one she imprinted on. Actually, I had probably ¾ of the whole island imprint on me."

"You really love these animals." He said, a genuine smile on his face as he took my empty plate.

"I do. They feel like family."

"So, you mentioned Rexy. Our T-Rex here, is the same one they had at the original park?"

"Yes." I said softly. His eyes watched me for a minute before nodding, "That has to be hard. Working with her."

"I don't visit her paddock. I barely visit the Raptors. I have one of my Vets visit her, and make sure they stick to her feeding schedule. I refused to let her on the island until I knew she would stay in her paddock. Concrete and reinforced steel were two of my best friends while planning her new home. I wasn't taking any chances."

"Let's talk about something else," He said, after I got quiet.

"Like what?"

"Like… I want to take you out again." He smirked.

"This shouldn't have even happened. If, it were to happen again, I would first need to talk to HR about relationships between department heads and their employees." I said, a small smile playing in the corner of my mouth.

"So, how about a movie?" He asked, gesturing to his couch.

"I have a feeling you're gonna try and make a move." I said, trying to ignore the blush on my cheeks.

"Not if you lay ground rules." He said seriously.

"I'm not interested in one-night stands."

"Neither am I." He said, and I could see the truth of it in his eyes.

"I'm not always going to be in the mood for talking, or even seeing other people."

"You tell me to leave you be for awhile, I will understand."

"I won't sleep with you. At least not until I feel ready."

"I will respect that."

"If we do this, I expect you to be faithful. If you are unhappy, we end it. I don't need to hear about you sneaking off with one of the Vets, or a tour guide because I was making you miserable."

"Mel, I promise you." He said sincerely, "I've had enough women in my life cheat on me. I would never do that to a woman."

"Okay then. Now we can watch a movie," I said, sitting down on the couch.

* * *

A/N: Reviews= love in the form of more chapters :) Please?


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N:**_ Hey guys! So this chapter has not only some therapy, but a lot of lemons. Hence the Mature rating on this story. If you wish to skip the Mature scenes, skip past the section the begins and ends with a line of stores (aterics). There will also be a big warning in capital letters. Mel, officially meets the raptors too!

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters. Just Mel.

* * *

I spoke to Rachel in Human Resources the next day, being assured that because he was only under my indirect supervision that it would not be an issue. As doucheba- Vic, was his supervisor, and I hated Vic, Rachel thought it was so funny how this even came about. I explained the situation, and how I chose to stay away from him. Owen wasn't impressed when I said that we should try to stay as public as possible so people didn't get the wrong impression.

"If I want to kiss my girlfriend, I should be allowed to do so in public, and not worry about either of us being judged." He said, before laying a big wet one on me outside of a restaurant. It later circulated the next day that Owen was using me to get a raise. HR immediately shut that down, and people stopped talking about it. It was around the second month where I noticed Owen's withdrawal. He would leave the room, or say he needed to work early the next day, and it sort of stung when he said that.

I understood, completely so, but I felt his absence, even when he was in the room. And when I asked what was wrong, he would smile and say, "Nothing."

I eventually got fed up with it one night, after he had left, stomping over to his trailer. I opened the door, and said, "Owen?"

I heard the shower going, and went to bang on the door, but stopped when I heard the sound. He was moaning.

Mortified, I thought about why he would be moaning. No one had come, and I didn't see any girl's clothes strewn over his bungalow. He was usually sitting farther away from me on the couch, and had pillows between us…

"Oh," I breathed, giggling to myself. I thought about backing out of the bungalow and talking to him about it later. But my bolder side said that I was ready. This was the time to take action.

 _ *****************************************WARNING: LEMON AHEAD, EXPLICIT SCENE ***************************************_

I'd known him for a year, and it wasn't uncommon to wait as long as I did for sex. I wanted the right partner. Stripping off my shirt, my shorts, panties, and bra. I padded into the bathroom softly. Pulling back the curtain, and slipping in behind him, he didn't notice me yet. Softly running my fingers around his hip bones, I went in for the kill, and he jumped.

"Shh. It's just me."

"Mel," He panted, turning around in my hold. He took in the fact that I was naked and focused on my face.

"Mel, I know you aren't ready y-"

"I am." I smiled, "And I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner."

"Are you s-"

"Owen. I'm here. Naked, if you haven't noticed. So what are you going to do about that?"

"I…" He stopped talking as I laid one of his hands, and placed it on my exposed breast.

"I want this." I smiled. His hands gently cradled my face, bending down to softly nip my lips. His touch was soft, where my arms wound around his neck to bring myself closer to him.

"Please," I said, feeling every inch of his body against my own.

"I want this to last," He said, "Take things slowly."

"Okay. I trust you Owen." I breathed. He shut the water off, grabbing a towel to dry me off, and then himself. He picked me up bridal style, bringing me to his bedroom. Setting me down on the bed, he stood back to look at me. I wanted to cover myself up with his sheets at the look in his eyes, but he just nudged my knees apart and hovered over me.

"You can still say no."

"Owen," I said, taking his face in my hands. He leaned down to kiss me softly again, and I gasped as I felt a hand traveling up my thigh. His hands made quick work of working my body into frenzy.

"Please Owen."

"You want this?" He asked one last time.

"Yes," I said feeling exactly was he was showing me. Entering me slowly, I gasped, feeling the pain and the pleasure as one. He shuddered, as did I, his face showing how much he was enjoying it. We moved in perfect rhythm, building up slowly, and exploring every inch of skin we could find on each other.

A tangle of limbs and passion, it was hours and many orgasms later that we collapsed. He curled around my body and I smiled into my pillow.

 _ *****************************************END OF LEMON***************************************_

"Wow." I sighed.

"Wow," He chuckled, kissing my bare shoulder.

"Owen," I said softly, as he continued kissing my back.

"Yes Mel?"

"I-I…"

"I love you," he said, beating me to it, and I turned to look at him.

"How did y-"

"I didn't need you to say it first Mel. I've been falling in love with you for months now. I've got to admit, you've been the center of my fantasies for months too."

"I love you too," I smiled, "And you haven't exactly made it easy. You are always working on your bike without a shirt on, and seeing you all sweaty like that, gets me all hot and bothered."

"Oh really? What about you with that sleek little black bikini? You just happen to go swimming when I'm working on said bike. I can barely hide my hard on when I see you come out of the water, drops traveling down that smooth tanned skin." He smirked.

"So that's why you've been distant."

"I'm sorry. I would just rather not have made you embarrassed about waiting. I wanted it to be your decision."

"And that's why I love you. You don't control me, but let me decide things on my own when it comes to my comfort zones."

"I just know how it went the last time you were up at the paddock, and didn't want you to get scared if I came on to hard."

"Owen, I understand. But you don't have to protect me."

"I know I don't. But as your mate, it is my responsibility."

"My mate huh?" I smirked.

"Sorry, animal instincts have been on the front of my mind for a few months now."

"Animal instincts. Hmm." I said, looking deep into his eyes.

"Yeah, I prefer mate over boyfriend anyways," He joked, and I responded, "Then as your mate, you need to introduce me to your pack."

"Are you serious?"

"I… I need to get over it sometime in my life. I didn't exactly get the chance to face my fears before last year."

"It has been almost a year." He smirked.

"And they are volatile and dangerous creatures still." I said seriously.

"Hey, we don't have to."

"Owen, I think it's time. It doesn't matter my feelings on the matter. I need to get over this. Especially if I'm going to come to the paddock on my lunch breaks," I said tracing my finger up and down his torso. His eyes widened as he said, "For lunch?"

"And for dessert." I said, wiggling my eyebrows.

"What if I want dessert before lunch?" He said, picking me up and depositing me on his lap. I groaned, feeling his arousal against my thigh.

"How about we have dessert now?" I smiled, sinking down onto him.

"Yes please," He sighed, as I started to ride him. After that orgasm, I passed out, only hearing the words, "I love you," as my mind drifted off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up to soft kisses down my back. I smiled into my pillow and said, "You are insatiable."

"Now that I've tasted the Forbidden Fruit, I can't get enough." He smiled, turning me over and setting me on my feet. I noticed the smell of food first, before he pulled one of his shirts over my head, and picked me up again. He brought me into the kitchen, and I said, "I could have walked, you know?"

"I just like having you close to me."

"So, about the paddock." He said, turning somber.

"What are the rules?" I smiled. It was well known around the other paddock workers that Owen developed rules alongside my own set of safety precautions.

"First we have you meet them in their lock up. You stand against the back wall, while I approach them. Then I will call you over. Walk slowly. I will introduce you to Blue first. She gets aggressive and defensive."

"How about we just stick to the inside wall of the pen. Anything more is…"

"Hey," He said softly. I looked up from my bacon and eggs to find his kind eyes shining at me.

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course. It's them I don't trust." I said, and he nodded again.

"As my mate, they will accept you. Or I'm gonna get upset with them." He chuckled.

* * *

As promised, Owen was very gentle in introducing me to the raptors. I started to come a little bit closer to the cage, over the first hour, and when Blue relaxed enough, I did as well.

"Easy Blue," Owen said, taking my hand gently, showing the raptors that I was accepted by their Alpha. They immediately relaxed further, and Blue made a purring sound the back of her throat. I shuddered involuntarily, as Owen eyed her up. His eyes travelled back to me, more specifically to my chest. When he clued in to what Blue was seeing he asked, "Take your shirt off."

"What?" I asked, astounded that he wanted me to take my shirt off in public. Barry was watching from the outside of the cage, smirking, and moving to make the rest of the crew shoo.

"Not all of them. I saw you put that t-shirt overtop your tank top." He said, lifting the bottom of my shirt. I reluctantly let him, allowing the raptors and anyone else watching, to see my whole scar. I heard a few whispers outside, and Barry nodded his respect to me. We hadn't spoken much, but he wasn't like Hoskins, so I was starting to trust him.

"Blue, you see this?" Owen said, pointing to my scar. Blue sniffed the air, as if the scar gave off the scent of the raptor that attacked me all those years ago.

"She's my mate. You will not harm her. Understand?" He said firmly. Taking my hand in his own again, he slowly eased it up to touch Blue's skin. I wanted to run, hide, scream and cry, all at the same time. But Owen's touch, and gentle hand on my shoulder kept me from doing so. Her skin was much smoother than I expected. It was a scaly and jagged surface, but a smooth feeling overall. She kept smelling the air, and purring loudly.

"She's… really taken with you." He remarked. More workers had gathered closer to the bars, to catch a glimpse, but all I was focused on was Blue's eyes.

"She's accepting you," Owen whispered. I couldn't answer, because my mind was flashing back to my first encounter with raptors. Her eyes, they were too much. I felt myself go limp in Owen's arms and Blue cried out.

"Mel, stay with me." Owen said, sitting down and keeping me close to his chest.

"Their eyes. Owen…." I breathed in suddenly, "I can't… Please."

"Okay. We try again when you're ready."

"No," Barry said, "The girls, they like her."

"What?" Owen said, as I took a deep breath.

"That mark. They smelt it."

"How do you know?"

"Look at them Owen," Barry said and I looked up at Owen to see his whole body language relax.

"No way," He said, eyes turning to take in the raptors body language. He gently touched my scar, only for sounds of distress to come form the girls. Owen leaned down to sniff my scar and I said, "What are you doing?"

"It smells different from the rest of your skin. Barry is right."

They began cooing as I turned to look at them again. Their forms were that of a submissive, and we could see their tails were down, no teeth bore towards us. Blue's eyes were soft, and I said, "How?"

"They recognize you were marked." Owen said softly.

"They see your scar as a mark of survival. That you were not defeated, that you are strong." Barry said.

"I was only slashed once. I don't even remember what happened after that."

"They don't know that. They see you as a survivor, as someone that defeated the one that attacked her. They must smell the raptor on you still. They wouldn't accept someone weak as their Alpha's mate." He explained, his accent coming through.

"Wow, I never thought about it that way."

"Barry, that is genius." I said, as Owen tried to help me up. Looking up at him I said, "Let me do this."

"Okay. Eyes up," Owen said, looking at the girls sternly.

"Hi Blue," I said, approaching her slowly. Her purr made my skin crawl, but I had to get over it.

"I won't hurt you," I said softly, letting her sniff my hand again before touching her gently. Smiling at her tentatively, I moved to Charlie, using the same smelling tactic first before touching her. She and the others were easily accepting of me, which freaked me out.

"Well, this was unexpected." Owen said smiling beside me as I caressed Echo's scar. She had gotten into a fight with Blue over being Beta two months previous, and Owen had to have her separated from her sisters while she healed.

"Okay, that's enough for today." I said, backing away from the girls slowly. I heard a cry and looked over to Blue, as Owen took my hand.

"I'll be back." I said softly. As soon as we were safe on the other side of the cage door, Owen gave the signal to let them loose. They didn't run off at first, watching us outside the cage door, but then turning to go roam in their yard.

"I need to head up to the office." I said to Owen, as he brought me towards his office in the modular.

"Just take a minute."

"Oh my god," I said, feeling the tears well up without warning.

"That's what I was waiting for." He smirked, pulling my into his hug. I didn't sob, but let the tears fall on their own.

"That made… a lot more progress than my years of therapy did."

"You should be proud of yourself Mel."

"I need to tell my father!" I said, excited.

"How about you wait until later to tell him? I don't really like the idea of getting his hopes up, only to call him and tell him you thought they wouldn't hurt you and walked in the cage." He joked.

"Don't be absurd. That's as close as I can get to them, or will get to them." I laughed, smackign his chest playfully.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Reviews= love in the form of more chapters!


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N:**_ Hello everyone! It's been a long week for me. I just about caved on Friday and posted this chapter, but I stayed strong. Hope you like it! ;)

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters.

* * *

It was a month later that I was helping on the Raptor's training. Now being closer, I could monitor them rationally, and my father's insight was also helpful in Owen's training. It was months of trial and error before we found something that worked. Using food as a reward for listening did the trick, along with a clicker. But this wasn't as simple as training a dog to obey commands. They only listened to Owen, and when he wasn't around, to Barry or myself. My father was trying to send me his research as well, but his Internet connection sucked at the dig site. So when I walked into my office at Command one day to see him sitting there, a plaid cotton shirt and his worn hat, I was floored.

"Oh my god, Dad!" I said, excited as I hugged him.

"I thought it was time to get over this. And Ellie wants me to evaluate the island for Christine and Charlie to visit in the future." He said, and I started thinking of things that my Dad would appreciate about my security measures, and what he would ask to be changed.

"Actually, you came at a great time." I said, taking his arm, slapping one of my all access pass wristbands on his wrist and leading him out of my office, "I can give you the grand tour today as it was set to be one of my observing days."

"So you are gonna play hooky with your old man?"

"Damn straight." I laughed, taking him to my G-Class, and taking him to the hotel.

"Get your bags," I demanded.

"Why?"

"Because my father is here and I would like him to stay with me."

"Alright," He grumbled, getting out. I smiled, watching him come back with his bags, throwing them in my backseat.

"So, where is your place?" He asked, and I smirked.

"You'll see it soon enough." I laughed. I first took him to see our Innovation Center, where I locked eyes with Dr. Wu as we passed by his office. He smirked at us, and my father got a glimpse of him. After he was impressed with our set up, or rather mildly displeased, I showed him the pachycephalosaurus pen, Mosie's exhibit, and approached Rexy's paddock.

"She's contained this time."

"It's the one, the one from Hammond's park." He said lowly, eyeing up our resident monster.

"Yes. She's old, and after she goes, we want to wait a year before introducing a new one to the island." I explained, as I showed him the observatory.

"She remembers the flares." He commented, and I sighed.

"It's the only way of drawing her attention now." I explained. After he had seen enough of Rexy, I took him to see our newest attraction, the Gyrospheres.

"You got Jimmy Fallon to narrate the ride?" He chuckled.

"It was him or Morgan Freeman." I laughed, "Jimmy wasn't doing any movies and was all too willing for the publicity."

"I take it you met him then," Dad smiled as we observed some of my animals from afar.

"He was funny to talk to. I had to make the scripts for him, because Simon determined that was under my preview." I said, tracking the dinosaurs on my phone.

"So, which ones did you imprint on?" He asked, noticing the Ankylosaurus I was watching.

"All of them." I said, opening the pod, and stepping out of it.

"Mel, is this safe?" Dad asked, very concerned.

"As safe as houses," I smirked, walking over to a familiar looking Triceratops.

"Trixie," I yelled, and the golden yellow Triceratops came charging over, full of excitement. She stopped suddenly in front of me and I laughed, "How are you feeling girl?" I said, rubbing behind her frills, towards her neck.

"She's docile."

"She's safe?"

"Of course Dad. I raised her myself. When she got too big for my house, I brought her to the paddock we have for the smaller herbivores. And when they were a bit bigger, we let them loose in their permanent home. It has invisible fences and they have implants that shock them from wandering too close to areas that are restricted."

"How did you open the sphere?" He asked.

"I have an override code," I explained. He was impressed with how I handled them, and how they seemed to respond to me fairly easily. He mentioned he was hungry and I said, "Okay, now we can go get food."

We grabbed some easy things to eat, and he was wondering why I grabbed another 2 meals of food.

"You aren't going to like me for where I'm bringing you, but I promised the handler and his assistant I would bring them lunch today." I said, sighing as he clued in.

"The Raptor handler."

"Yes," I said, leaving it at that. He was silent after he finished eating his burger in my car, and I was still driving for another two to three minutes to the paddock.

"Mel," I heard Barry yell from the catwalk.

"Hey Barry. Where's Owen?" I asked, pulling the food out of the car. My father needed a second to calm down, that much I could tell. So I left him there to get out on his own, while I heard Barry say, "He's in the office."

"Thank you! Come down here in a minute. I brought lunch." I yelled up to him.

"You are too good to us Mel," He chuckled. I walked over to the modular, and climbed the steps. As soon as I was inside the door, I was swept off my feet by my favorite guy, who was placing bit wet kisses all over my neck.

"Owen, Owen," I giggled.

"You brought us burgers. God, I love you," He said still kissing me. I heard the door open again, and I tried to push Owen off, but he just planted a big wet one on my lips. After he let me go, I turned; absolutely mortified to find my Dad standing there, giving me a look I would never forget.

"Melissa," He said, and I separated myself from Owen's hold.

"Dad, this is Owen, our Raptor trainer. Owen Grady, this is my Dad, Dr. Alan Grant."

"Dr. Grant, it's an honor to meet you."

"Mr. Grady. My daughter has been telling me a lot about you. How when she first met you, she thought you were an asshole." Dad said, as my eyes went wide.

"I come off as one Sir, but I can assure you, with Melissa, that is not the case. She is my favorite part about this island, and the most important part."

"So, I assume from that display, you are her boyfriend."

"Yes sir."

"You were in the military."

"U.S. Navy sir." He said, respectfully.

"What makes you so qualified to train raptors?"

"I don't train them sir. We have a mutual understanding based on respect. I am their Alpha, and they respect me as I respect them. I was part of the trainers for the U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program, and before that I trained drug and bomb sniffing dogs for SWAT teams across the country."

"And how does my daughter fit into all of this?" My Dad asked, and I pinched Owen before he could answer, but I was too late as he said, "They see her as my mate."

"Mate…" Dad said lowly and I put my face in my hands.

"Hey Owen, save me some… fries…" Barry said coming in.

"Barry, this is my father, Dr. Alan Grant." I said introducing the French man to my Dad.

"Pleasure to meet you Dr. Grant. You taught your daughter well. Your insight has helped immensely in their training." Barry said, shaking my father's hand.

"Your welcome. It wasn't like we could stop it," My Dad said, looking back at Owen and me.

"I'm sorry I didn't mention this in my last phone call." I said, looking guilty.

"Oh, I wish I had known that you never mentioned us being together," Owen said, looking sheepish.

"I hadn't even told Ellie," I said and then my Dad started laughing.

"Mel, I realized awhile ago." He said, "You sounded happier than I'd ever heard you. I knew something was up."

"Oh, way to give me a heart attack. Now it's my turn." I said, turning to Owen. He smirked and said, "OKay, just wait until after we eat."

"What?" Dad said and I laughed.

"You'll see." I laughed. It got rid of the smell of human food on our skin too. After I stepped out, my Dad watched closely as Barry signaled for the girls to be brought into their individual harnesses. He paused in his motions towards the cage, as I signaled for them to open the door to the cage. I carefully walked forward as the girls cooed at me.

"Hi girls." I said softly.

"Mel, Echo's calling for you," Barry said and I smiled over at her. Taking off my t-shirt, my Dad said, "Melissa, what are you doing?"

"Trust me Dad. I've done this quite a few times." I said, approaching Echo's harness. She chirped at me, as I let her sniff my hand. Petting her softly, I whispered, "Are the other girls being mean to you?"

"Do they talk back?"

"In their own way," Owen said, watching me.

"Well, I'll be damned," Vic said, making me jump back. Echo snarled as did the others, at the stranger.

"Hoskins," I said, snarling at him.

"You want her to get eaten Grady," Hoskins chuckled to Owen before noticing my Dad.

"Who authorized this civilian to be here?" Vic said, noticing my father wasn't a worker he recognized.

"I did. This is my father, Dr. Alan Grant."

"Another Grant huh? Here trying to shut this place down?"

"If I had it my way, the park wouldn't have even opened." My Dad said lowly, narrowing his eyes at the bully. Hoskins smirked, "You and your daughter are cut from the same cloth."

"I trust my daughter, and her judgment. It's people like you I don't trust. In it for the glory and the money, not the science. Not for what we can learn from the past. Even the recent past." My father said as I approached Charlie and Delta. They purred as I pet their heads, cooing softly at me. Owen said, "Vic, I have nothing for you."

"If you'd turn in your reports I wouldn't have to make the trip up here everyday."

"We have nothing to report Hoskins," Owen said sternly.

"You didn't tell me that she could get close to them. That's something to report."

"It was personal Hoskins," I said, turning so he could see my full scar, "It was a form of therapy. A raptor attacked me 21 years ago, during the time of the original Jurassic Park incident."

"I can see that. What? Afraid of their bark?" He remarked smugly.

"Hoskins," Owen said, narrowing his eyes at the man.

"Owen, please." I asked gently, and he looked over at me.

"Wow, she's got you whipped."

"Hoskins, one more word that doesn't have to do with the Raptors and their care, and I will personally ask Masrani to have you escorted off the island." I said sternly. His upper lip curled in disgust, but kept his mouth shut.

"It's okay Blue," I said softly as Vic backed up from the cage. My Dad smirked at me, and I gave a wink to him subtly.

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 _ **A/N:**_ What did you think?


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N:**_ Hey guys! Chapter 10 for you. Thank you guys for following and favoriting. it makes my heart happy.

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters.

* * *

"Okay, so I've got salad, roasted potatoes, grilled chicken and enough Margarita's to put us all on our backs." I joked, bringing the food out to Owen and my father on the patio. Owen had built it for me last week, and I was enjoying the view over our lake with it every night. Of course, we had to christen it, but my Dad doesn't need to know that.

"So, are you coming home for Christmas this year?" My Dad asked.

"I already booked it off, with the promise that I work next Christmas."

"I'll talk to Ellie, because she wants to send the kids out next year, around New Years." Dad said after I handed him a beer. I knew he wouldn't enjoy my margaritas, but beer was a safe bet.

"Sounds great," I said, "I'll have them stay with me rather than at the hotel."

"Ellie would appreciate that."

"So, how long are you here for?" I asked, taking a sip of my margarita.

"I have a lecture at the University in three days. So I suggest maybe going back home in two." Dad said as I dished out the plates.

"Oh, I forgot about the desert. I had no room in my fridge for it, so I stuffed it in Owen's. I'll be right back." I remembered, walking across the expanse of front yard to Owen's bungalow. I had somehow managed to spill a liter of milk in Owen's fridge, so I decided to clean it up rather than leave it longer. By the time I had gotten back to the table on my patio, Owen and my Dad were laughing about something.

"What's so funny?" I said, putting the pie in my oven to warm up, while yelling through the open door.

"I was just telling your Dad about our plan to move in together." Owen said as I came out onto the patio. The hand I had on my margarita clenched, snapping the stem and shattering the glass and the frozen liquid went flying. Owen and my father couldn't stop laughing at the look of shock on my face apparently, until the green liquid took on a red tinge as it dripped from my hand.

"Mel," Owen said, getting up to take me over to the sink, and turn on the cold water. He carefully ran my hand under the spray as he went to my bathroom. As he came back I started to feel the sting of pain from the cut. Owen took my hand out to examine in the light, finding a piece of glass or two in the cut still. After rinsing it off, and bandaging it up, Owen moved to sit me down, and clean up the glass on the floor.

"Mel, it's painfully obvious." My Dad said, as Owen cleaned up the mess.

"It's… it's been a few months since he told me he loved me. This just seemed like the next logical step." I said softly.

"I understand. He's a good man. He does care about you, I see it." He said, placing his hand on my knee comfortingly.

"Thanks Daddy," I smiled.

"All clean. Now, sit down and eat your dinner before it gets ice cold. Or no pie."

"Hey, I made the damn pie." I complained.

"Now, I'm taking care of you. Deal with it," He said, smiling as he picked me up and placed me in front of my dinner on the patio.

"Oh, you are lucky you're so handsome." I said, narrowing my eyes at him playfully. The rest of the night, my father and Owen talked while I finished my paperwork for the week, which was funny to try and complete with my dominant hand when Owen pretty much put it in a cast. When it came time to turn in, Owen was a gentleman and respected my father, by going to his bungalow to sleep in his own bed. I gave Dad my bed, and took the couch. He didn't get much better at home or on the dig site, so he was grateful for the comfortable sleep he got.

* * *

The next day, Owen had to be with the girls, but I took my Dad out golfing on our golf course, and on a walk through the Botanical Gardens, on which he took pictures for Ellie. I walked him through our security protocols, and introduced him to my Asset Containment Unit and its leader Hamada. The Vet's were gushing over getting to meet my father, as were some of the handlers. When I brought him back up to the Command center, Lowery just about had a heart attack.

"Sir, it is a _great_ honor to meet you," He said, fangirling for a moment.

"Lowery Cruthers, one of our brightest," I said to my father, giving Lowery the crazy eye, telling him to back off a bit.

"I'm sorry, it's just you are a big deal around here sir. Just about as big as Mr. Hammond. But he's dead. I-I mean, he was a great man, and you are too sir. Big fan of your work. I've read all of your books, and I wished I had turned to Paleontology earlier in my schooling. But I went with Computer Sciences-" Lowery's verbal diarrhea was clearly not stopping, so I slapped my hand over his mouth and said, "Shouldn't you be monitoring the comms? I heard that ACU was called out to rescue Trixie again."

"Yeah, vet says she was bummed when she didn't see you." He said, returning to his normal amount of excitement.

"Where is Claire?"

"In conference with corporate. Apparently they want another attraction."

"I gave them raptors. What more could they want?"

"We don't have the traffic for another attraction right now." Vivian spoke up.

"Okay, I had an idea, but it's not what they want. And it's from a memory. I don't know if it's going to work."

"I'm all ears. Corporate thinks they can light a fire under me to sway you. They are sadly mistaken," Claire's voice joked as she walked in.

"Treetop Gazers. I know they want Brachiosaurus eventually, and this way we all get what we want. I want a low aggression herbivore, and they want a new moneymaker. As much as I hate it," I sighed.

"Brachiosaurus was the epitome of low aggression," My Dad chuckled, as we remembered our night in the treetops over 19 years ago.

"I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced. I'm Claire Dearing, I am the Director of Operations under Dr. Grant."

"I'm also Dr. Grant." My Dad said, shaking her hand politely.

"Welcome to Jurassic World." She said, smiling gently, as if knowing that my father could end up turning on this park and InGen again in a second. I knew better, but it was funny to watch Claire walk on eggshells around someone.

"My father and I were just coming to drop off my stuff, before I took him on the Monorail." I explained.

"I hope you enjoy your time here Dr. Grant." She said, before turning to look at me.

"If you have a basic concept drawn up, I'm sure the Board of Directors would love to see it."

"As a matter of fact, I will start tonight. Don't tell Wu yet. I love being able to boss him around a bit," I chuckled, and Claire smiled.

"Don't we all. He likes to play Frankenstein," Claire said and Lowery's laugh sounded from across the room.

"I'm _so_ calling him that from now on," He chuckled. My father smiled at me, noticing how at ease I seemed here. How could I tell? It was a secret smile, only I knew about. The first and only time I'd seen it was when I was introduced to Ellie and immediately saw her as my mom. And then last night when Owen was cleaning up my mess.

"Okay, day two of our father daughter adventure continues," I said teasingly.

"As long as we don't have a herd of Gallimimus running alongside us this time."

"It's funny you should say that," I chuckled.

* * *

We took a ride in Gallimimus Valley, as well as kayaking the Nublar River in the Creatasus Cruise. We were both too old for the Aquatic Park, but Dad wanted to slow down on the dinosaurs. I suggested a walk through the Bamboo forest to end our day. Owen was caught up with the girls for the night. They weren't behaving so he needed to observe them around the time he usually left to determine if they were just acting out. So, Dad and I had dinner by ourselves as we worked out a plan with Ellie over the phone.

"If you fly them out, my Christmas gift to them this year will be their passes for next year."

"That's a lot for one Christmas," Ellie said.

"Charlie has been working, right?" I said, "So he could help pay for airfare for himself."

"It's a better alternative."

"I don't know. Alan?" She asked.

"Mel knows her stuff Ellie. She's done very well here. Nothing has brought up any red flags." He said, and I could tell by his tone he was lying. I would ask him about it later, but Ellie started saying, "I'll talk to Mark about it again. He might want to come with the kids."

"I understand." I said softly.

"How are you doing darlin'?"

"Things are good. Owen and I are dating," I smirked at my Dad.

"Owen, Owen… Was that the guy you were complaining about last year at the dig site?"

"Yes. He's actually a gentleman, and very sweet."

"Alan, do we approve?"

"You do," He laughed.

"You don't?" She asked confused.

"I do. I'm just saying you would. I know you Ellie."

"Make sure he knows to take care of our girl."

"Oh he knows," My Dad said, smirking at the phone on the table.

"Well, I need to get to bed. Have a good night guys."

"Night Mom, love you," I said, as Dad said, "Goodnight Ellie."

"I love you too sweetheart. Goodnight Alan."

As the other line kicked off, I turned to look at Dad. He smiled to me softly and said, "You need to take me to the ferry first thing tomorrow."

"Yes sir Dr. Grant." I joked.

"Hey, we aren't on the dig site."

"Dad, I am going to miss you."

"You'll see me in four months," He said confused.

"But last time I saw you was a year ago. Let me have my emotional moment."

* * *

Owen came by before Dad and I went to sleep, to say goodbye to him, as he would be long gone the next morning. Dad started snoring, and I couldn't sleep. Taking myself and a book, I went to read out on my patio in the dying sun. Turning on the bug zapper, and sitting back with my book, I settled in for a while.

"Hey there pretty lady," Owen said, smirking at me.

"Hello there kind sir." I said softly as he came up to kiss me. It lingered for a moment before he pulled back to sit on the chair beside me.

"How was your day?"

"Good. How about you? How were the girls?"

"They were acting up, but I set them straight. It's getting easier. They still try and pick fights with each other."

"They are still considered toddlers. They don't play nicely with others. In the original park, one raptor ate four of her sisters and kept two for her pack."

"Yikes."

"You've never been more right."

"Have I told you how much I love you today?" He said, taking my book out of my hands and pulling me into his lap.

"I don't think so." I giggled.

"I love you so much, I am willing to spend Christmas with your family this year."

"Really?" I said, hopeful.

"I still haven't met your Mom. Or these siblings you talk so much about." He smirked.

"Okay, then. I'll make the travel arrangements tomorrow. I need to be in the office anyways." I smiled, kissing his cheek sweetly.


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N:**_ And we are about to get to the good stuff ;) Next couple chapters are gonna make or break this couple.

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters.

* * *

Saying goodbye to my father wasn't hard, but knowing it would be four months until I saw him again, that made me pause and hug him longer. He simply smiled and waved goodbye to me as he walked onto the ferry. After booking our flights, and talking with Ellie again about whose place we were hosting at this year, I left a message with my father that we'd be staying with him in Ithaca, and then we'd drive the five hours down to Maryland the next day. Owen put in the time off, and Barry said he'd cover for him this year, if they switched next year. As it was under my purview, I granted the request, having it signed by Claire as well to ensure it didn't come back as favoritism later.

The months flew by, work kept me busy through the weekends leading up to our vacation. I was up to my eyeballs in paperwork for the proposed attraction of Treetops Gazers, and Owen was ever helpful by distracting me for short periods o time with a foot rub, sex or a swim to keep my mind sharp. The board of directors was looking for ways to work around my approval, as even Simon didn't have the authority to stop me from saying no. I'm sure they wished I hadn't signed a contract renewal four years ago, tacking an extra seven on. It wasn't what I wanted with my life, and my degree, but it was my responsibility to not let Jurassic Park happen again.

When it came time to leave for the mainland, to head to the airport, Owen and I said goodbye to the girls, I said goodbye to Claire, the ACU, my Vets and the command center team. The flight wasn't terrible from the mainland to Ithaca, but Owen's steady hand in mine was also helpful. After grabbing our bags from baggage claim and hailing a taxi, we traveled to my father's house, where I was so happy I had remembered the key, because the weather had dropped from 30 degrees to 20 quite quickly. After stomping my boots free of snow and dropping my bags by the front door, I immediately grabbed the closest blanket and wrapped myself in it.

"Are you cold?" Owen teased as I shivered.

"I've been living in Costa Rica longer than you have buddy. I haven't been home for Christmas in a few years."

"Mel?" My Dad called from upstairs.

"Hey!"

"So Ellie said we are more than welcome to stay at her house, if we wanted to come tomorrow morning." He said, hugging me tightly.

"Okay. She's aware we have an extra guest?" I smiled.

"Yes Mel. He's getting the couch." Dad said, before greeting Owen with a handshake and a smile, "How are things back on the ranch?"

"Stable enough that I could leave. The girls are getting bigger, and faster."

"How are they responding?" Dad asked, taking Owen into the kitchen. I rolled my eyes as I said, "I'll take our bags upstairs then."

"They are still having trouble listening, but I'm getting closer to something. We've been watching footage of our sessions, sort of like football teams do to review their plays and what went wrong, and it's been help-" The voices cut off as I walked upstairs to my room, finding Dad had laid our sheets and blankets for me to make the bed. Putting down mine and Owen's suitcases, I brought the linens up to my nose, inhaling the scent of clean flannel.

Heaven.

And then I set to work.

* * *

After the bed was made, I yelled downstairs, "Dad?"

"Yeah Mel?"

"Did all my packages arrive last week?"

"Yes, they are in the basement."

"Thank you!" I said, grabbing my wrapping paper bin from my closet. Taking it down to the basement, I could hear Owen and my Dad laughing in the kitchen.

Wrapping up all the presents for Mark and Ellie, labeling them from Owen and myself or from Dad, I set to wrap the kids presents uniquely. All theirs was, was a piece of paper explaining they had a 5 day all access pass to Jurassic World, starting December 28th of the following year. I put the paper in big boxes, and grabbed rocks from outside, drying them off and putting them in to give the illusion of a heavy present.

"Hey," I heard as I finished wrapping Owen's present.

"Hey yourself," I smiled, noticing Owen leaning against the doorframe.

"Who's that for?"

"This one?" I asked, pointing to the present I just put a bow on, "It's for you."

"Ooooh, Whatcha get me?"

"Uh uh. Not telling. Besides, your real present is back on Isla Nublar. It's not appropriate for this visit." I whispered.

"Mmm, I can't wait." He smirked.

"Well, you can help me load these up into the car for tomorrow morning. We are up bright and early to beat the traffic to DC."

"DC huh? Can I take you out for a date while we are in the area? I know a little hole in the wall with the best Tequila."

"Absolutely sailor," I flirted, as he leaned down to kiss me. A throat cleared behind him and I giggled, "Hi Dad. All wrapped up and ready for Christmas."

"Alright. Now, I have dinner ready for you two."

"Dinner? It's only 3pm back home."

"But it's 6pm here." Dad smirked. Shrugging I said, "I'm never one to pass on free food."

We sat down to enjoy a small meal of ham, scalloped potatoes and mixed veggies. It was simple, but my Dad barely made food, so I was impressed.

"Ellie told you where to get these, didn't she?" I joked, seeing the box for the scalloped potatoes.

"You know I'm not much of a cook." Dad said, a slight chuckle on the end.

"Really? All those PB&J's growing up could have fooled me," I teased back, "I've got dishes tonight Dad."

"No, you did the wrapping, and you just finished traveling. I've got them tonight Mel."

"Would you like some help sir?" Owen asked.

"Sure, you can help dry." Dad said, grabbing his plate and getting up from the table.

"Fine! I'll go cuddle on the couch with myself, and watch television that isn't in Spanish."

"Don't you get any cable down there?"

"Satellite Dad, and I'm just glad to be back in the land of English speaking people, and normal weather." Laughing, I walked out of the kitchen after leaving my plate by the sink, and plopped down in front of the TV with the remote. Having been busy for the last 9 years, I didn't get to keep up on much. Some music, but the TV shows now were even better than what I remember. Catching onto an episode of some superhero show, I saw my Dad's laptop open, and was reading out of the corner of my eye.

"How To Tell Your Adult Child You Are Dating Someone…." I whispered to myself and closed the laptop quickly.

"Fair enough," I said to myself, realizing my Dad and I don't talk about emotional stuff all that often. Listening to him and Owen laughing in the kitchen, I realized there was a small amount of femininity to the house now. A vase of flowers on the front hutch, artwork that I don't remember Dad buying, and my room was clean. Dad wouldn't have cleaned it.

"The laundry detergent changed." I chuckled, remembering the smell of jasmine and lavender. Dad stuck to unscented soap like super glue.

"Mel, you want a beer?" Dad yelled as Owen came into my peripheral vision.

"No, I'm driving tomorrow." I said, smiling as Owen sat down with a beer for himself.

"So, where'd you meet her?" I asked after Dad sat down. He paused, looking at me.

"Boy, you don't miss anything, do you?"

"Dad, there's something different about you. This isn't like Ellie." I smiled softly.

"We met at the University. She signed up for a dig, and we started talking during said dig. She's… something else."

"What's her name? The suspense is killing me!"

"Diana."

"Okay. How old is she is my next question?" I smirked.

"She's 58." He said, showing me his phone. He had pulled up a picture of her and I smiled as I took in her features.

"She's beautiful. When do I get to meet her?" I asked.

"Soon enough. She was going to drop by the day before you left, to meet you. She didn't want to interrupt Christmas."

He told me a bit more about her, before I yawned, feeling sleepiness hit me like a train. Saying goodnight to Dad and Owen, I climbed the stairs. I was asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N:**_ I am sorry about the late update! Just had a few things came up, and I couldn't get to this. Anyways, love you all and enjoy!

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters. Just Mel.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up to feel my stomach lurch. I ignored it before I knew I was gonna vomit all over the floor. Jumping out of bed, I ran to the bathroom, turned on the fan, closed the door and let my stomach empty itself into the toilet. After the nightmare was over, I flushed the evidence away, only to question what set off my sickness.

My brain was thinking back to what Dad made, wondering what could have set me off. I started rummaging through the cupboards for Pepto, when I came across a box of tampons I assumed that Diane had left. I started doing the math in my head, when the last time I had my period was, and it clicked.

"Oh no," I whispered to myself.

"Mel?" Owen's voice asked softly from the other side of the door.

"I'm okay," I said, trying to sound normal.

"Are you sick? Do you want me to make you a cup of tea or something?"

"I'm okay Owen. Thank you," I said, rinsing my mouth out and opening the door. He looked worried.

"Hey, I said I'm okay," I smiled as he pressed a hand to my forehead.

"Are you sure?" He said, confused.

"Positive," I said, ignoring the stupidity of my comment.

It was only moments later that I decided to get dressed so we could leave. Dad was already packing the car when we got downstairs with our bags. Dad and Owen settled in as I grabbed something to settle my stomach. As I got into the driver's seat, I realized that I needed to test to make sure my suspicions were right. Texting Ellie I asked, _Can you go to the store and discreetly get me a pregnancy test?_

 _Of course sweetheart_ , She responded a moment later, followed by, _How late are you?_

 _Two weeks._

It was only 20 minutes later that she texted back, _I set up an appointment for you just in case tomorrow afternoon._

 _The office is open tomorrow? It's Christmas Eve._

 _No, at the hospital. Christine's friend Aly, her mom is an OB/GYN, and I called in a favor._

 _Thank you Mom._

"Who are you texting?" Dad said, confused from the passenger seat.

"Mom. Asking if she's needing us to bring anything from the store."

"I can respond for you. You focus on driving." He said and I quickly locked my phone.

"All good. No more texting necessary." I smiled, looking back at the road. Owen was passed out in the backseat, and I cast a glance at his sleeping face. He had no idea what I was going through. How on earth would I tell him?

"He's good for you," Dad said softly. I looked over at him quickly before turning my eyes back to the road.

"You think?" I teased.

"He challenges you. Makes you better."

"Yeah. He didn't push me too hard about the raptors, but the support and challenge was definitely there."

"How are things back on the ranch?" He asked, and I sighed.

"They are pushing for another attraction. I keep telling them that we need to focus on the ones we have before we add more. We aren't Disneyland. I can't see us adding a new attraction for another two years. I'm just getting the paperwork down for the Treetop Gazers. There's a structural engineer coming to the park in two weeks to go over plans with me before I submit it to the board for legal purposes."

"I thought they already said yes."

"They have to bring in a focus group, see how well it would rate based off of a group of 20 random people. Do another one, compare the two and then if all goes well, we get a green light on the project. And then I get more paperwork. So all in all, after I submit this, I get a week's vacation."

"Sounds about right." He chuckled.

I went over the layout again, describing my ideas for the Brachiosaurs' new habitat. Surprisingly, the time flew as Owen snored in the back seat, and my Dad told me about his latest dig.

"Did he even sleep on the flight?"

"He sleeps like the dead, especially when he has days off. I personally think it's from his adrenal glands being on constant high. Your fight or flight instincts would be, working with carnivores, and highly aggressive ones at that, all day long for weeks on end. The adrenaline crashes alone would cause his body to want to rest for days."

"Or he's a guy, and we sleep a lot. I slept on the plane to Isla Sorna," Dad replied.

"I think that you knew what you were getting into. Especially after Uncle Ian told you about what happened there."

"That was almost four years later. I thought that we were flying over, not landing to look for a child."

"You immediately drew comparisons to the 1993 incident."

"And it's a good thing too. I was too furious to think straight until Eric found me."

"How are they doing by the way? Have you talked to Eric recently."

"He's actually a student of mine now." Dad smiled.

"He grew on you, just like I did. A fungus you can't get rid of." I chuckled.

"You I didn't have to grow to love. I loved you before I ever held you." He said, making me tear up. I sniffed my tears back and tried not to think about if Owen would feel the same about our current situation.

"Hey, we're here!" I said, as I pulled up the street to Ellie's house and saw Charlie shoveling the driveway. Honking slightly before I pulled up along the curb, I rolled down my Dad's window and said, "Does anyone know where my little brother is?"

"Well look who's come crawling back for some real weather." Charlie joked. For 17, he was certainly tall, which he got from his mom.

"Are you kidding? I've got New York state blood in my veins!" I joked as I rolled up Dad's window. I reached behind me to tap Owen's knee.

"Whatzit?" He said, shocked at being woken up suddenly.

"We are here goofball." I smiled.

"Oh."

As I started opening the trunk, I barley registered a blur of red coming towards me, before I was nearly knocked off my feet.

"Umph," I said, trying to upright myself and the giggling mass in my arms.

"Christine? You got so big! When did you have time to grow? Growing comes after studying, Little Doe," I joked, pushing her dirty blonde hair out of her eyes.

"I'm a shoe in for Harvard, stop stressing!"

"Charlie still planning on joining the Air Force?"

"Air Force? Pfft. We wiped the floor with those birds every year at the Army Navy game." Owen said, coming around to grab bags from the back.

"Hi, I'm Christine!" She said, introducing herself.

"Owen Grady."

"Don't let my Dad hear you talk like that. He might make you sleep outside," She joked as I ruffled her hair.

"Hey, he won't. Just grab a bag, and help." I chuckled.

"Good to see you again Christine." Dad said, smiling at the 16 year old.

"You too Dr. Grant."

"Hey, it's the Dinosaur man," Ellie said coming out to help Dad bring bags in.

"Ha ha." Dad said, hugging Ellie, before I ran up and squeezed her tight.

"Sweetheart I missed you! You haven't been bitten, have you? Trixie still giving you a hard time?"

"She's stopped running into logs to get me to come see her. This time she continuously runs towards the invisible fence. Never again am I bonding _that well_ with a dinosaur."

"She's probably so upset you aren't there." Ellie said, smiling sadly.

"Nah, she's good. Hamada and Lowery are keeping me updated. Mom, I would like you to officially meet Owen Grady, my boyfriend and our Raptor handler." I said as Owen came up the driveway, carrying two suitcases and a bag of presents. Putting them on the front porch, away from the snow, he held out his hand and said, "It's nice to finally meet the mother Mel talks about so much."

"No handshakes in this house. It's good to finally meet you Owen." Ellie said, hugging him. He smiled softly and hugged her back. I knew this time a year was hard for him since he lost his mother, so having a motherly figure of mine accept him so quickly, I knew meant a lot to him.

"Mom, can I use the bathroom? I forgot to go this morning." I said, and she nodded.

"I just remembered I forgot to put toilet paper back on the roll. It's under the cupboard, at the back. Might be next to my hair supplies." She said, and I got the hint.

"Got it. Thanks!" I said as I dashed upstairs. I locked myself in the bathroom before I started digging through the mess underneath the cabinet. She had hidden it between her tampons and her hairdryer, so I was eternally grateful it wasn't out in the open. Taking the test out of the box and its wrapper, I quickly read the instructions, readying a timer on my phone. Peeing on the stick was awkward, but it needed to be done.

After I set the cap back on the tester end, I started my timer, moving to hide the stick back underneath the cupboard for now. I washed my hands, and sat against the bathroom door, not looking at the test, but taking deep breaths.

 _Beep beep._

Steeling myself, I got up from the floor, and looked down at the counter where the test sat, mocking me.

 _Positive. 4-6 weeks._

"Oh boy." I whispered. A soft knock and I heard Mom say quietly, "It's me, honey. How's it going?"

Unlocking the door and pulling her in, shutting it again, I showed her the test. Her smile nearly split her face.

"Mel, this is huge!" She said quietly, and I said, "How the hell am I going to tell him?"

"Do it when you're back on Isla Nublar. Put on some lingerie, make him dinner, and give it to him in little box, saying it's an extra present."

"Mom, what if he doesn't want this…."

"Baby. Say it with me," She whispered, turning on the bathroom fan so no one could hear us accidentally as they walked by.

"Baby," We said softly. I took a deep breath, and smiled, "Baby."

"You are going to be a mom," She said excitedly in hushed tones.

"Okay. I need to hide this until we leave."

"I'll call to confirm your appointment. I told her I would have dragged you anyways to do a blood test, because theses are not always accurate." She said as she shut the fan off and I stashed the test in a tampon box.

"Where's Mark?"

"He had a last minute meeting at work. He'll be here shortly. Come help me with lunch."


	13. Chapter 13

_**A/N:**_ Hey guys! On time this week ;) Enjoy, and I'm sorry...

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters.

* * *

That evening was uneventful, except for Mark and Owen talking about the military, and Christine asking me everything she could about Jurassic World without me leaking inside information. But the next morning, I was dragged out of the house by Ellie without even saying good morning or goodbye to Owen, all so I could be asked to pee in a cup, and have blood taken from my arm.

"Well, the test is right. I would estimate you are in your 6th week of pregnancy."

"Oh my god." Ellie squealed.

"Mom, too early for celebrating." I said, wiping my eyes of sleep.

"You are still jet lagged. It's 9:30 here and 6:30am in Costa Rica."

"How about we do the ultrasound and then you can go home and sleep?" The doctor smiled. I hadn't caught her name, but Ellie trusted her. She made me lean back on the table, lift up my shirt and wiggle my pants down a bit. Jumping at the sensation of cold gel she said, "Sorry. It's not helpful."

"I'm pretty sure we might hear a heartbeat, but let's get a good look at the sac." She said, rambling off about medical terms and I just watched the monitor for a change. Soon enough I saw a little blob on the screen, and a fast thumping coming from the machine, and I said, "Is that my baby?"

"Yes, that's your baby," Ellie smiled beside me. I just stared in wonder for a moment, taking in the joy I felt, now knowing that I was going to be a mom. After the doctor prescribing me vitamins and going over my new lifestyle changes, Ellie took me to pick up my prescription. We talked about my expected due date and what this would mean for my job. But my biggest concern was still Owen. This whole vacation was going to be torture.

Later that evening, after we had all stuffed ourselves silly, Owen asked to take me for a walk. I agreed, bundling up so I wouldn't get cold as it gently snowed. He was unsure of the neighborhood, so asked Ellie if there was a park close by. After she gave us directions, we walked slowly. Enjoying the snow falling softly and the distant sound of traffic.

"I like it here." Owen said, smiling around at the houses.

"I do too. It's beautiful in the springtime." I said, looking up to the darkening sky and seeing the streetlamps coming on.

"Would you look at that," Owen said, dropping my hand and running towards a hill in the park, trying to slide using his feet. Falling on his butt, he started laughing as I ran over.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"Come on Mel. You've got to act like a kids sometimes." He chuckled, getting on one knee. I looked at him skeptically.

"Okay. Stand there, and don't move." He said, getting up and running behind me.

"Can I see what you are doing?" I asked, before I felt something cold hit my back. Gasping, as I recognized it to be a snowball, I said, "You are a dead man."

But as I turned around, I didn't find him with another snowball, but something small in his hand, as he stood up tall. I walked up to him, confused, as he said, "I hope you'll let me say what I need to before you kill me."

"I didn't have any other way of doing this. It's been on my mind for a few months though. Around the time you Dad came to the island, I knew I needed to talk to him. He didn't know me, but I knew his daughter. She is amazing, funny, so caring and calls me out on my shit." He said as I stood in front of him.

"I love you Mel. And I don't ever want to be separated from you." He said as he got down on one knee. My eyes widened as I realized what the small object was.

"Melissa Jeanette Grant, will you do me the honor, of becoming my wife?"

I started to wonder if I should tell him now about the baby, but it was the farthest thing from my mind as I whispered, "Yes."

His smile reached both his eyes as he gently took my hand and opened the box. I looked down to see a ring that he shouldn't have been able to afford, being slid onto my ring finger.

"I was worried for a second there." He said before scooping me up and twirling me around.

"Now, why were you worried?" I giggled, holding his face in my hands as he kissed me.

"You could have said no. That would have been an awkward plane ride home."

"Never."

"Too bad we aren't sharing a bed tonight," I said quietly as we kissed.

"That will have to wait." He smirked, as he took my hand and we started walking home.

"Knowing my Mom, she'll want us married before we leave."

"Why not?" He smiled.

"You really want to get married, right now?"

"If I wasn't ready, I wouldn't have asked," He pointed out.

"Let's just figure some things out first. I haven't even introduced you to my Uncle yet, or my cousins."

"So, Let me get this straight. Uncle Ian, is Ian Malcolm, Aunt Sarah is Sarah Harding even though she and Ian are no longer together, cousin Kelly is Kelly Malcolm, and all three were on Isla Sorna in 1997 during the rescue mission there."

"And?"

"And cousin Noelle is Uncle Ian's second child from his second marriage, and cousin Jasper is his first child from his first marriage. But they won't be here tonight."

"Jasper is 36, married with two kids, lives in California. Noelle is 34, unmarried, lives in Paris as a painter, and Kelly is 30, living in DC, unmarried and is still furious with you for taking a job at Jurassic World."

"You forgot to menti-"

"Lex and Tim, cousins. 35 and 30, living in Virginia. Lex is a major vegetarian and hates dinosaurs, Tim is working as a stock broker."

"And when we mention work?"

"Don't mention man eating raptors that I work with." He smirked.

"I'm the only one with a physical scar. Everyone else has a mental scar."

"I love yours." He said seriously. I looked up at him and said, "You're joking, right?"

"No. I love it. Because it means you survived. You are a fighter. And it means you cheated death, all so I could know you, and love you."

"Would you like some wine with that cheese?" I said playfully.

"Nah, it's fine by itself." He said, stopping in front of me and holding my face in his hands gently.

"I love you Mel."

"And I love you Owen."

Christmas was so crazy, I don't know where to begin. Christine and Charlie were stoked to be able to visit Jurassic World next year, so long as they kept their grades up in school and worked to help pay for their plane tickets. Ellie loved the plant I had grown for her on the island, and knew she would take care of the prehistoric plant well. Dad and Owen each got some pretty neat knifes that I had designed for them. They looked like a raptors retractable claw. Dad gave Owen the resonating chamber of a velociraptor he had found on a dig two years ago. He still had the one he and Billy found in 2001, which made me very excited for how Owen was going to try and communicate with the girls now. Uncle Ian and Kelly showed up with our Christmas ham and more presents. Kelly hugged me tightly and squealed with me when she found my ring.

"God, any longer and I was wondering if you were purposely scaring them off." She joked to me.

"He just about scared me off," I teased back. But it was seeing Lex and Tim that really created that feeling of family for me. We had gone through so much together, so young, and even though Lex was mad at me for endorsing Jurassic World, she was still like my sister. I helped her grieve when her grandfather passed, and then her Mom not even a year ago.

"When is the wedding?" Ellie asked, after we had all sat down for dinner.

"Owen wants a shotgun wedding apparently." I joked.

"Like, this week?" My Dad laughed.

"I kinda do too, but I'd also like to wait a few months. Get work stuff in order so we could go on vacation afterword."

"Vacation? You live in a vacation spot." Tim joked, after passing Ellie the bottle of wine.

"Damn, I'll go get another bottle of white. Mel, do you want me to grab you a glass of red while I'm there?" She said as very little poured out.

"Yes, thanks Mom." I said, as I knew she wasn't actually getting me wine. It was cranberry juice.

"And Timothy, I don't want to be there every waking moment of my life. I want to go to Disneyland, or Europe."

"Disney World." Owen and Kelly said at the same time, laughing at themselves.

"Okay. This way I can be away from work and enjoy life." I said.

The holiday came to an end. And like most things our 'family' did, it was thrilling. Dad and Ellie managed to set up a night of dancing and partying for the adults, where I met Diana. She was sweet, and full of life. She asked me questions about my job and explained she wasn't trying to take Ellie's place in my life. She wanted to be my friend. And I appreciated her honesty.

But as we flew home to Costa Rica, Owen explained how happy he was that he'd have a family. And I almost wanted to scream it at him that I was pregnant.

After landing, taking the ferry over and having Lowery pick us up, I only wanted to sleep. Telling Owen would come another day.

* * *

It was a week after we arrived home that I was able to have land started for the Treetop Gazers. Wu was happy to be playing mad scientist again, and that kept him out of my hair for a while. My symptoms seemed to be getting worse, and the only person on the island that knew was my doctor. And he said it was normal.

Instead of letting it bug me, I chose to relax one night. I made dinner for Owen and I found a cute negligee he hadn't seen yet and I waited.

And waited.

Waited.

I waited until midnight, when I decided to call and see if he was on his way home.

When he didn't answer, I called Barry.

"He said he was heading home around 8 o'clock. I left shortly after he did. He hasn't gotten there?"

"No. But thank you Barry." I said, throwing on a pair of jeans and grabbing my car keys. I paused as I felt a sharp pain in my stomach, but I thought it was just from not eating yet. I searched around the paddock, I searched at the local watering holes on Main Street. And that's when I found him, lip locked with a waitress. She was holding herself against him and he looked like he was enjoying himself.

I felt my insides cramp up, and I wanted to start screaming and kicking her for even touching him. But then I remembered what I told him.

" _If we do this, I expect you to be faithful. If you are unhappy, we end it. I don't need to hear about you sneaking off with one of the Vets, or a tour guide because I was making you miserable."_

Walking up to the two of them, I tapped her on the back She released him, only for her nose to meet the end of my fist. His eyes were wide, with shock and guilt saying, "Mel, I-"

Holding a hand up to him, I took of my ring, putting it on the table next to him and said, "If you were unhappy, you were supposed to tell me. Do not speak to me, ever again."

Walking out, I saw Lowery walking in, looking confused.

"Can you take me home? I can't look at him right now." I said softly as Owen tried to fight his way through the crowd, yelling my name.

"Of course." He said as I felt my stomach cramping still.

"No, wait. I need you to take me to the clinic."

"Why?"

"I think I'm-" I said, trying to calm myself down, "I think I'm having a miscarriage."

"Okay, get in." He said, as I sat down on his golf cart. We only had these things for on the main streets, because it would be pointless to have our large vehicles here. Lowery sped, as fast as he could in a golf cart on a crowded street, to the clinic. As soon as I got inside, the nurse called my doctor. Simon agreed to my idea of a clinic/hospital on the island, after it had taken over two hours for an air ambulance to get to the island four years ago, back when one of the handlers was trampled to death. He had bled out due to his injuries, but we could have saved him.

"Mel, how are you doing?"

"I don't know. I've having the worst cramps and I feel wet." I said, as Lowery helped me up onto the exam table.

"I'll just leave…" Lowery said and I said, "No. Can you hold my hand? I don't have anyone else."

"I-Okay." He said as the doc covered me in a sheet and took off my pants. After a few moments of feeling around inside me, he decided an ultrasound was the only way to determine what was happening.

"Mel. I'm sorry, but you are having a miscarriage." He said, looking up at me over the sheet. My tears fell like a waterfall in that moment. I was losing my baby. Lowery held me close to his chest, and rubbed my back as I felt the doctor working to pull my baby out.

"Please," I sobbed as he started taking the baby away. He looked back at me and said, "It's very small. About the size of a kidney bean."

"I want to hold it." I whispered. He nodded, and Lowery gave me some space as the doctor gently placed the tiny, undeveloped baby in my palm. I just cried, delicately running my fingertip over its tiny head.

"You are so loved. I love you," I whispered, "I'm so sorry this has happened to you."

After I watched the doctor leave the room with my baby, I cried into Lowery's shoulder as he drove me to his place. He gave me his bed, taking the couch and made me a bowl of ice cream. He was a great friend, and I told him as much.

"My sister Kate, she went through something similar. Her husband abused her, and she didn't even know she was pregnant until his abuse caused a miscarriage. She stayed with me for the next few months as she got her shit together and divorced him. And I always saw her with a bowl of ice cream each night. She said it helped her. Something about women needing ice cream after break ups and traumatic experiences."

"Regardless of your reasons, thank you." I said, as I texted Claire that Lowery had offered to help me pack up my bungalow tomorrow so he wouldn't be in to the office. She promptly needed a reason why I was moving and I told her about Owen's cheating.

"Do you want me to have him fired?" She said as I answered my phone.

"No, the raptors listen to him. It would be stupid and petty of me to shut down the whole program just because of his actions." I sighed.

"Why aren't you angry?" She said, confused.

"I have too much hurt to deal with right now to be angry. I just miscarried."

"Oh god. Mel, I'm sorr-"

"Sorry's are not going to help right now. Or ever. I don't need pity. I need work. I need distractions. Can you do that Claire? Give me enough work that I'm distracted?"

"I can. I know we weren't always close, but I'm here if you need me Mel."

"Thank you Claire. That means a lot to me right now." I said, crying.

"Do you want me to dispatch ACU to help it go faster? Or send them to kill Owen?"

"No," I said, smiling, "To killing him that is. And is that apartment next to yours still available?"

"It was always meant to be for you. We haven't given it away yet." She said.

"I'm moving in there. I'll keep the bungalow for now, but I'll live in the apartment. It was home to me before he got here."

"Okay. Try and get some sleep Mel."

"I will try. Thank you Claire."


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N:**_ Monday will be the new posting day because I like to mess with you guys. And surprise you :)

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters. Just Mel.

* * *

A month had passed. Owen had tried calling me, tried getting my attention at restaurants, or by leaving notes for me in his reports. They all said the same thing to me.

He was guilty. Hamada offered to shoot him with a stun rod and I gave a small smirk to that.

"No, he's not worth it." I said as we pounded back tequila.

As the months added up, I was so immersed in work, I never clued in to my surroundings. Eventually, Owen gave up trying to contact me. He was just there. He was there when I went to the bar with the ACU or Lowery. He would watch me from outside my office as he handed reports to Claire, because I had made explicit boundaries. Barry wouldn't take sides, nor did I want him too. He was upset at both of us for not sitting down and talking about it. But what really killed me was when I learned Owen was seeing someone else.

And then I found out it was Claire.

She explained it was only one date and she was trying to figure him out. Trying to have my back and decided that he was a pig and I didn't deserve him. Something about that didn't seem right. His visits got less frequent, his notes shorter, and Barry's temper towards Owen grew. I didn't visit the paddock, unless I had to do an inspection myself, in which case, the girls would cry out at seeing me. He would just stare at me as I did my inspection, tossing a couple of rats to the girls. I couldn't go into the pen to pet them anymore. Because, without Owen behind me, I felt the fear creeping back in.

In September, it came time for the yearly inspections of each paddock. This is the one where I went over everything with a fine tooth comb, three to four times. Each paddock took me a week to inspect. And I was dreading going up to the Raptor's. But not because of the girls, but because, I was missing Owen. He had been a constant in my life for nearly a year and half, and then he was gone.

When I arrived at their paddock, I watched as Owen's figure tensed. The girls smelled me as soon as I got out of my car, and they were crying out.

"Mel," Barry smiled at me as I walked up to the office.

"How are you Barry?"

"I'm good. How are things on the ranch?"

"Slow, and boring. Trixie is getting better."

"What happened that she was sick?"

"She ate something one of the tourists dropped." I said, as Owen barked orders at one of the new handlers.

"Mel. The story doesn't add up. Something that happened that night doesn't make sense," Barry said as I sighed.

"It makes perfect sense. He wasn't happy, so he cheated. I lost a lot that night but I can't keep coming back to this. He made his choice."

"That's the thing Mel. He and I went out last week and when we decided it was too crowded, we had beers at his trailer. He was crying Mel. He said that waitress was new, didn't know he was with you, and he was trying to get her off of him without hurting her."

"Convenient." I said, getting out my clipboard.

"Mel, he loves you. He hasn't stopped loving you. He didn't cheat."

"It doesn't matter. He wasn't there when I needed him that night." I said, feeling my eyes well up.

"Needed him for what?" Barry asked as Owen walked in.

"Dr. Grant," He said, keeping his distance from me. I looked up at him with hard eyes and felt my fingers touch my stomach, reminding me why I was so angry.

"Mr. Grady. The raptors are restrained?" I said in a professional tone.

"Yes ma'am." He said solemnly. As I brushed past him, he had the decency to not try and apologize to me. In that moment, I was his superior, and we were both being professional.

After inspecting the inside of the enclosure, I inspected walkways lighting, electrical, water, and lastly, how high the walls needed to be built up, now that the girls were fully-grown.

Going over all this, everyday for the next four days, I saw more of Owen than I would have liked. He didn't seem to look too hot one day, running back into the office every few minutes, white as a sheet.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked Barry as I watched the girls roam.

"He said he talked to Lowery. He was upset that you'd been seeing him. Lowery explained that you hadn't been dating. That he helped you that night at the clinic, and then gave you a place to stay."

"What?" I asked, horrified that Lowery had spilled the beans.

"Owen put together the clues Mel." Barry said, looking upset with me, "He knows you were pregnant and that you went to get an abortion."

"An abort- Oh god no." I said, getting defensive, "He doesn't get to blame this on me. I was pregnant, with his child, but the day I found him kissing that skank, I miscarried."

"What?" I heard Owen's voice say. My blood ran cold as I looked at Barry.

"You knew he was behind me, you son of a-"

"Mel." Owen's broken voice said, and I sighed.

Turning, I saw his face, tears in his eyes as he said, "So you were pregnant."

"And I was going to tell you that night."

"I found the dinner you made, when I came back to the bungalow to apologize and beg your forgiveness."

"I'm almost glad you missed the present on your nightstand."

"I was out looking for you all night."

"I waited until midnight for you to come home, so I could tell you that you were going to be a father! But you were out making out with Skanks-R-Us."

"Mel, she came on to me. She apologized after you left. She was so humiliated after you punched her, that she quit."

"Good."

"Mel, you…"

"Yes. We've been over this."

"You needed me and I wasn't there."

"No, you weren't."

"Mel, I am so sorry." He said and I sighed.

"It's a little late for that."

"I tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen."

"Because you broke my heart!" I shouted.

"But you never gave me the chance." He said, exasperated.

"I-" I stopped, knowing this wasn't getting us anywhere.

"I cannot begin to describe the feelings that rise up in me every time I hear your name. Anger, hatred, neglect… Hurt, longing, loneliness… love."

"Love?" He said hopefully.

"I missed you," I said, sobbing as I kept my distance from him.

"I've missed you too," He said taking a step forward as I put up my hand.

"But I can't trust you."

"Yes you can Mel. You trusted me once before. And nothing happened! It was out of my control, and when it wasn't, you didn't believe me. I couldn't push her away. She locked herself around me like a boa constrictor."

"What was her name?"

"Natalie, Nancy… Maybe Nadia, I think. Something that began with an N."

"Why should I trust you?"

"Because I love you more than anything in this world. Because, now that I even know about it, I would have loved that baby. That would have been our baby," He said, not caring about the tears that fell from his face.

"What about Claire?" I said, and he said, "That? That was a way to see how you were doing? She gave me a few details but ultimately decided I wasn't worth her time, nor should she give out any information regarding her friend."

My heart warmed slightly at the thought that Claire saw me as a friend.

"Owen, I can't get close to you, only for you to hurt me again." He started to walk towards me, and I couldn't back up any farther.

"You don't have to worry Mel. I won't ever be going out without a spotter, or you ever again. I will do everything in my power to prove to you that I can be trusted. Starting with this," He said, holding up the engagement ring I had worn for all of two weeks.

"You kept it?" I asked, confused.

"It was worn by the woman I love, and I'm not about to let her go without a fight. It took me months for her to even agree to go out with me." He smirked, "I will wait years until she trusts me again."

He slid the ring back on my finger and said, "I vow to earn back your trust. I will not party without you, or someone who will keep me accountable. I will not have another girl on the side, and I promise to tell you if I'm unhappy, so we can work it out. I love you, and don't ever forget it."

After his vow, he ducked down to kiss me sweetly. I pulled back, looking up into his eyes.

"Barry, will you witness for us?" I said, feeling a weight lift off my chest at his touch.

"Witness?" Owen said, confused.

"If you're married to me, everyone will know. You'll have a brand on your finger, that says you are mine." I said, feeling a smirk rising. Owen's eyes lit up in understanding, "Please. I want you and only you."

"Tomorrow then. I know you don't have anything in the evening."

"I would be honored. You're both stupid for holding out this long," He chuckled.

"Where are we getting married?" Owen smiled, before kissing me again, more passionately.

"There is a little chapel in the hotel?" I said, thinking of the posh Hilton Isla Nublar Resort.

"I have a better idea." Owen said, gently entwining our fingers.


	15. Chapter 15

_**A/N:**_ Sorry this is so late. Work was crazy and we are in the middle of packing for moving across the country.

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park, or any of its characters.

* * *

Claire, Zara and Vivian were helping me get ready the next morning. I had a white halter maxi dress on, and Vivian was curling my hair.

"I still think he's a bad idea." Claire said, and Zara gave her a look.

"I think it's lovely! They were so in love, and still are. Just because of a few bumps, doesn't mean giving up all together."

"It's a crazy idea."

"Claire, I've grown to love you, but right now I want to push you in that lake." I joked, and she sighed.

"Alright. Just let me know if I have to drive you to the ferry. I'm the getaway car driver."

"How is your Dad about all of this?" Vivian said, and I sighed.

"He gets it. He wishes he could be here, but it was so last minute."

"Not that last minute," A voice said. I saw Mr. Masrani as I turned and then my father. I smiled, getting up and saying, "How did you get here?"

"Mr. Masrani here has a jet. He sent it to pick me up," My Dad laughed as I squeezed him tight.

"I just got back from giving Owen the talking to of a lifetime."

"Dad, it's okay."

"I knew he didn't Mel. He even called me the day after to tell me how ashamed of himself he was for not realizing she was going to make a move, or she was flirting with him. But you had made up your mind, and I wasn't about to get in between that. I only wished my grandchild hadn't been a victim too."

"That baby was loved before that happened. You will have grandchildren that aren't raptors." I joked.

"Thank you Simon," I smiled at my boss.

"Happy to do it Mel. You helped bring this to life, and kept us safe for years. This was the least I could do."

"Mom couldn't make it, but she wants pictures, and wants you to come up in the New Year."

"I can try." I said, as Vivian sat me down to finish my hair, with a few flowers in my low bun.

"How about we just get you married?" Claire said, smiling politely.

"It's your turn for vacation," I said to her.

"We both know I'm not taking it this year. My nephews are coming down to visit while my sister divorces her scumbag of a husband."

"Hey," Zara said, getting Claire's attention, "He's almost out of your life."

"I know," Claire said, and I could have sworn I saw her and Zara make soft faces at each other.

"Are we ready?" Barry asked, knocking on the door. I looked over at him as Vivian handed me my flowers and I stood up.

"I am." I said, and he smiled.

"I'll go let them know. Give me a five minute head start." He said, before leaving. I heard his vehicle start and then he drove off, so Dad said, "Okay, let's load up."

It was a short drive to the cliff, but it felt like hours.

"Last chance," Claire teased.

"Never taking that offer. I ran away once before. I'm not about to let him out of my sights again."

"I lied about our date," She said to me a second later.

"Oh?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

"All he wanted to talk about was you. He wanted to know how you were, who you'd seen, and what he could do to make it right. I was doing it to prove to you that he was a player, and would continue, but I was wrong. He isn't a pig."

"Thank you," I smiled.

Owen was standing on the cliff face, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, watching as my Dad walked me up the small path to the lookout point. Lowery, Barry and Hamada were standing beside Owen, making me smile. Hamada still wasn't convinced that Owen was telling he truth, but I attribute that to him being protective of me.

Owen was smiling at me, and I couldn't stop smiling at him.

"Who gives this woman to be married?" The priest said as my father stopped in front of Owen.

"I do." My Dad said, taking my hand and placing it in Owen's. I kiss Daddy's cheek, and Owen shook his hand, before leading me to my place in front of the priest.

"If there is anyone here, who feels that these two should not come together in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace."

As the priest said his part, I watched Owen's eyes, never straying far from my own. We vowed to stay faithful to one another, to love each other, even when we were mad, and vowed to keep updating our vows as we went along, because we would grow and evolve together, so our vows deserved the same.

Instead of a reception, we chose to have a quiet evening to ourselves. Everyone understood that we would celebrate later, but Owen just wanted it to be us tonight. After we got to our bungalows, I noticed that most of our stuff had been moved.

"We'll keep mine for when family comes to visit." He said, "Cause I really like that deck."

"I knew it. You want me for my stuff!" I said sarcastically.

"No. Well if you count your heart then yeah." He joked, picking me up and carrying me inside the bungalow.

"I was so angry with you two days ago, and now we are married," I teased.

"Mel," Owen said sadly.

"Hey, I get it. I'm sorry I was so stubborn too. This could have happened sooner."

"I know, but I wanted to ask you something."

"Anything," I said, as he placed me down in my- our bedroom.

"When I found out, two days ago, that you had been pregnant, I got thinking. I want to be a Dad. And if you would like to, I was hoping we could forgo all birth control."

"You want to have a baby?"

"Unless you want to wait."

"No. I don't want to wait. I held our baby, after my body rejected it. It was so beautiful, even for being the size of a kidney bean. That, coupled with the hormones raging through my body, made me want another child. But I was angry at you, and we weren't speaking."

"So, we're gonna try for a baby?"

"I want to have your babies," I said, as he kissed me softly.

"I love the sound of that." He said, undoing the topknot of my dress and letting it pool at my feet. That night we were connected in more ways that one. He loved on me, and I on him, our bodies and souls dancing in the dark. And every night after, we left the arguing, we left work, we left all the stress of life outside of the bedroom.

And for three glorious months, nothing could touch us. I thought we were out of the woods.

And then history repeated itself in a way I didn't see coming.


	16. Chapter 16

_**A/N:**_ Bonus chapter for my lateness this week. Enjoy :)

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters.

* * *

It started out as any other day. Except I was finishing up a doctor's appointment, where I learned all our practicing had paid off. And my little brother and sister would be here at noon.

"No stress," My doctor practically yelled at me as I bounded out the door. I wanted to tell Owen right away this time, but Claire called and said her nephews were set to come in the next day, and she hadn't even thought about how she was going to show them around and run the park at the same time.

"I've got it. Zara can bring them here and then I can show them around while I have my siblings here too. We've got a lot of ground to cover in just 5 days." I explained as I rode the monorail to the ferry terminal.

"This means the world to me Mel. Thank you," She said, sounding relieved.

"Alright, alright. I've got to go. Just let me know where she's bringing them for us to meet up."

"Absolutely. Hope you guys have a fun day," She said sincerely, as I spotted Christine pulling Charlie through the crowd, as the monorail stopped at the station.

"I will. Bye," I said, hanging up and getting out. Making my way through the crowd, I soon found Christine by saying, "Little Doe!"

"Melly!" She shouted, nearly taking me out in a flying hug.

"Gentle, gentle," I chuckled as she held on for dear life.

"I'm so excited. When do we get to see Owen? Or the Raptors? What are we doing first?"

"First, we drop off your bags at our place. You guys shouldn't stay in the hotel by yourselves."

"Why can't we? We don't want to be around you and Owen when you… you know…" Charlie said, embarrassingly.

"It's not like we do it on the kitchen table. You guys will have Owen's old bungalow, and you come over for meals. I have a whole 5 days off to show you guys around. We take it slow the first few days, and I'll show you the Raptors tomorrow."

"Awesome."

"Well, do you think that it's time we get this show on the road?" I smiled, picking up one of their bags. Christine was talkative the whole ride into the park, and Charlie just kept nodding, as if not quite listening to her rant about which attractions she wanted to see first.

As the monorail pulled into the station, Christine yanked us both off the train and towards the Innovation Center.

"Wrong way Little Doe. First we go to Paradise." I said, pulling her in the direction of my car. Charlie was impressed by the car, touching the radio that shouted my name.

"Hamada to Mama Bear. Come in Mama Bear."

"Go for Mama Bear," I said.

"The team was wondering if you'd like to join us tonight at the bar."

"How about you guys come for burgers at the bungalow? I've got my little brother and sister here visiting."

"10-4 Mama Bear. I will discuss with the team."

Charlie laughed, "Mama Bear. How'd you earn that nickname?"

"Over 97% of the animals on this island imprinted on me. They are like my children. So naturally, Mama Bear."

"What about the other 3%?" Christine asked, confused.

"Mosie, Rexy and the Raptors imprinted on other people. Rexy, some 20 plus years ago, on someone. Mosie on her trainer Jessie, and the Raptors on Owen. Every other living creature is my baby."

"Hamada to Mama Bear."

"Go for Mama Bear." I said, taking the radio in hand again.

"We'll be by after our shifts, bringing appies and drinks."

"10-4 Hamada. As long as no one passes out on my lawn again. Mama Bear, over and out."

"So where do you and Owen live?" Christine asked as we passed a sign that read: Restricted Area.

"Our housing was away from the resort to ensure privacy, as well as keep the behind the scenes… well, behind the scenes. And I stayed out here because it kept me away from people when I didn't want to be around them."

"Hermit." I heard Charlie chuckle.

"Damn straight." I smiled. Soon enough, I pulled into our little patch of paradise, and Christine gasped. In the distance, the sun was dazzling overtop of our lake, glowing perfectly over our bungalows. Owen had already left for the day, but my bike was still sitting in the little shed he built for us.

"Oh, Melly it's beautiful." Christine said, jumping out as I pulled to a stop. I turned the car off as said, "It's home."

"It's okay," Charlie said, shrugging, before smiling at me.

"Ha ha. Come on, let's put your stuff away." I said, grabbing one of Christine's bags.

After grabbing a few snacks for the road, we hopped back into my car and drove back towards the resort. I handed them both a bracelet and said, "Do not take that off for anything. I can track you if you get lost, and it's how you will get on all the rides. Think of it like a FastPass at Disneyland."

"Sounds awesome." Charlie said, nodding appreciatively.

"One second guys," I said, changing the frequency on my radio.

"Mama Bear to Alpha Man, come in Alpha Man."

"Mama Bear this is Alpha Man. What's your favorite position?" I heard his smirk through the radio and sighed.

"Nothing dirty Owen. I have another two sets of ears in the car."

"Hey, it's the siblings! How's my little brother and sister?"

"Hi Owen!" Christine said as I held the button down and held it up in the car.

"Hey Little Doe. What's up big man on campus?"

"Next year Owen," Charlie smiled.

"You are gonna be flying circles around me." Owen joked.

"Approaching resort with the VIP's. Please let the crew know we are having a BBQ tonight and they are invited." I said, redirecting the conversation.

"Did Hamada invite himself over again?"

"No, I invited the ACU. I'll pick up extra meat and buns at the warehouse. What time will you be home?"

"Should be home around 5pm today. They are doing great Mel. I can't wait to show you their progress."

"I can't wait," I smiled.

"Barrie wants to know if he needs to bring something." Owen's voice said over the radio.

"Just himself and maybe a few drinks. We don't have enough to be giving out."

"He's bringing beer and a salad." Owen said.

"Okay. Well I shall see you tonight then babe."

"Roger that Mama Bear. Alpha Man over and out." And with that I switched back to the ACU channels.

"For future reference, I normally don't radio him like that." I said, pulling into a spot just outside the Command Centre.

"We've got to walk from here. The only reason I had that spot this morning was… Well, shear luck." I said, biting my tongue. Damn, this keeping secrets thing was not gonna work when I was bursting at the seam.

"So, what do you both want to do first? Monorail around the island, or Gyrospheres?"

"Gyrospheres!" Christine shouted, excited as we walked into the Command Centre.

"Okay," I laughed, "I just have to invite a few more people for tonight."

As we walked in, I noticed Claire was pacing.

"What's wrong?" I asked Zara.

"She's freaking out. I can't seem to get her to calm down. She won't talk about it, but she's nervous to see her nephews." Zara said, looking over at Claire with soft eyes, like she was helpless to aid Claire.

"Claire," I said, grabbing her shoulders, and making her stop pacing.

"It's going to be fine. We can switch off. Zara will pick up the boys, and I will bring them along on my own adventure with my brother and sister."

"What if they don't like me? I'm not fun." She said, eyes not focusing on me.

"Hey, you need to unwind beforehand. We are having a BBQ at the bungalow tonight. You all are invited."

"I've got a meeting to prep for tomorrow. Verizon Wireless wants to sponsor a dinosaur."

"Which one?" I laughed

"They want to look through what we have first and decide," Claire said, rather quickly, looking confused as to why she said what she did.

"Okay. Make sure you bring up our newest attraction," I smiled, "Treetop Gazers is on schedule for a release in two months. The Brachiosaurus are growing fast," I said, as Vivian piped up, "I'll be there. I can bring beer."

"Sounds like fun. We need some excitement around here," Lowery said, as Claire sighed.

"Fine, but I'm not going to be drinking."

"Oh come on Claire, you are no fun." Zara smiled softly, and suddenly it all clicked. My eyes went wide and I smiled.

"Claire, can we talk in my office?" I asked, professionally.

"Of course."

"Lowery, show Christine and Charlie what you do. I'll be right back guys." I said, pulling Claire and Zara into my office.

"Okay, spill. And I promise I won't tell if you don't want me to." I said as I closed the door.

"Spill what?" Zara asked, pretending she didn't notice my tone.

"You two," I said pointing to each of them.

"I don't…." Claire stopped short when I gave her a pointed look.

"Yes." Claire smiled over at Zara, who smiled back sweetly.

"Finally!" I said, making them both pause.

"What?" Claire said, confused.

"Claire, do you remember the first year you came here? I took you out to the bar for a drink after work, and we both ended up getting pretty drunk. You made a pass at me, and when I asked why, you told me how distrustful you'd become of men since your brother-in-law molested you on a family camping trip. I knew you wouldn't be after Owen, so I thought that you had other intentions when you asked him out for dinner. You wanted to see if it was just a phase. Claire, it's okay to say."

"Zara, I've known since you came here. I knew you'd both tell me on your own time, so I didn't push. But I've seen how you two have become closer over the last year. I'm happy for you guys," I said, taking both their hands.

"I don't remember telling you that," Claire blushed, ducking her head.

"I do. I wasn't that drunk." I teased.

"You can trust me not to tell." I said, letting go of their hands.

"Thank you Mel." Zara said, tears in her eyes.

"Well, I best get my brother and sister, before Lowery asks them for Mom's autograph." I joked, winking at them and leaving my office.


	17. Chapter 17

_**A/N:**_ Here's your new chapter :) I should also tell you of who I have playing Christine and Charlie. Charlie is played by Jonathan Lipnicki, and Christine is played by Chloe Grace Moretz.

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Jurassic Park, Universal, or any of its characters.

* * *

After a full day of adventuring around the island, I brought Christine and Charlie back towards the park to grab extra food at the warehouse for staff. They had just received a shipment of fresh buns, so I grabbed a few packages and several of hamburger patties. Charlie helped me lug everything inside, and Christine was passed out in the back of the car from all our fun. I had him bring her to the other trailer for a nap in the air conditioning. As I started chopping lettuce for salads, I heard a familiar sound rolling towards the bungalow.

Smiling to myself, I waited for the sound to stop before I moved to make juice and infused water for Charlie, Christine and myself. I heard the thumping of boots on the patio, before I heard the door open. I was busy humming along to the music, when I felt two large arms circle around my middle.

"Hello Mrs. Grady," He whispered into my ear, a husky tone.

"Hello Mr. Grady," I teased, tilting my neck to the side for him to kiss.

"Mmm, let me shower and then I can fire up the grill. Man I love that thing," He smiled as he walked out of the kitchen.

"More than me?"

"No. I love nothing in this world, more than I love you," He called from down the hallway.

"How were the girls today?" I yelled down the hallway.

"Better. Hoskins is coming by for a demonstration tomorrow. Not looking forward to that."

"Where are little bro and little sis?" He asked, after the shower turned off.

"Napping in the other trailer. It was a long day in the sun," I smiled, as he grabbed a piece of watermelon from the fruit salad I was making.

"Mmm, man do I want you right now." He growled against my neck.

"No touching until tonight," I giggled, pushing him away slightly.

"Just a quickie. No one has to know," he said, trying to pull me towards the bedroom.

"No Owen," I laughed, "Charlie already doesn't want to be over here in case he finds us on the kitchen table. I don't want to give them any more reason to be embarrassed."

"Fine, but I get you all to myself after everyone leaves." He said, and I laughed, "I promise."

Hamada and his team were the first to show, bringing salads and some desserts. Vivian brought Lowery out, and he had managed to find a large bucket of Rocky Road ice cream. Claire and Zara came later, with beer and a bottle of wine for me. I smiled and said, I was gonna save it for later.

"Claire, I'd like to introduce you officially to my brother Charlie and my sister Christine." I said as Claire finished putting together her small burger.

"Hello." Claire said, her smile kind as she shook their hands.

"Pleasure to meet you. Mel has told us all about you." Christine said, as she went to talk business with Claire.

"Hey man, can we meet the Raptors tomorrow?" Charlie asked Owen.

"It's up to your sister. I think it's okay as long as you follow my rules."

"I'm up for it," Charlie smiled.

Early the next morning, I found a note from Owen saying he took the kids to the Raptor pen for the morning feed and would bring them back by 9am. I looked over at the clock and noticed that it was 8:45am and groaned. Feeling my stomach lurch for the first time today, I bolted out of bed and hugged the toilet as I brought up the contents of my stomach. Groaning and taking a glass of water from the tap, I brushed my teeth and moved to grab food from the kitchen. There was leftover fruit salad from last night, and I thought toast would be the best option to settle my stomach. After munching, I heard the sound of my car coming up alongside the bungalow.

Christine's bright face was the first thing that popped in the door, as she called out, "Good morning Melly!"

"Little Doe, you must be excited to see more of the island today." I smiled.

"What do you think?" Charlie said, flopping down on the couch in the small living room.

"Who was it?" I smirked to Owen.

"Passed out on the lawn? Cooper. Drove him back to their station and then took the trouble makers up to meet the girls. It's funny how you just know. Our parties can get pretty wild." Owen said, kissing me softly before smiling, "Good morning."

"Okay, back to work. Big presentation today."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed.

"All you have to do is show your progress with them, and then I get final say on Hoskins proposals. You know I'm going to turn it down, right?"

"I know. It's kind of a conflict of interest," Owen smirked.

"Don't care, my authority." I said, drinking my glass of milk. My phone rang and I answered it saying, "How much did you have last night?"

"I'm fine. Only a glass of wine, but Zara is kind of hung over. Do you mind-"

"Picking up the boys? We haven't even touched an attraction yet." I sighed.

"Okay, she can pick them up, if you come get them from the Innovation Center at 1pm."

"Claire, relax. That was already the plan. You are overthinking again." I smiled as Owen kissed my forehead and waved goodbye. I heard his motorcycle start up as Claire said, "I have a presentation to the investors from Verizon Wireless at 12pm."

"Ad after that you have a meeting with Masrani. You'll give Simon my love, right? As well as the latest numbers?"

"In the plan." She said, a smile evident in her voice. I saw the look Christine was giving me and said, "I've got to go. My sister is getting impatient with me."

"See you at 1pm." Claire said, and I hung up.

"So, where to first?" I asked. They were excited to see the Creatasus Cruise, so I let them enjoy the paddling experience while I waited at the end of the attraction. I was reading up on names and things I should be avoiding during my pregnancy this time, wondering what I did wrong the last time.

"Mel! That was so cool. Why didn't you come with us?" Christine asked as she tied up her blonde hair in a ponytail.

"I'm not feeling great today." I said, with a small smile.

"Okay, can we go see the babies now?" She asked as Charlie was fiddling around on his phone.

"I can show you the lab now, yes. The nursery is only for authorized personnel and you aren't so." I teased, as I led them back to the Monorail. After lapping half the island just to get back to the Innovation Center, I showed them upstairs and got them as close as I could to the Nursery.

"Do you still imprint on the babies?"

"No, I've been encouraging the handlers to do it now, because I'm not in the field as much as I was when we opened. I'm stuck behind a desk for awhile." I sighed. I knew as soon as Simon read my note about Maternity leave, I was going to be getting a confusing email. Confusing in the sense that he would happy for me, while trying not to let me go too far.

"Can we meet Trixie?" Charlie asked, kind of out of the blue. I sighed and said, "I suppose."

"Now?" Christine asked, smiling as bright as the sun.

"No, we are gonna wait until Zach and Gray Mitchell get here. I'm showing them around today too."

"Are they Ms. Dearing's nephews?" Charlie asked, brightening up at the thought of more boys.

"Yeah. She's not aware of hold old they are right now, but we shall ask when we meet them."

"How do you not know how old your nephews are?" Charlie asked confused.

"Because Claire is married to her work and has been for several years. She hasn't gone to visit due to her responsibilities here and a personal matter that occurred."

"I guess we should head back to Main Street for some lunch." I smiled.

"Good idea. I'm starving. Owen doesn't know how to cook breakfast like you do." Charlie grumbled.

"What did he make?"

"He set bowls and milk down in front of us with two kinds of cereal." Christine said, also with an annoyed tone.

"Not everyone can make my waffles," I teased.

* * *

After asking Charlie about West Point, the academy he had been accepted into, he could have gone on for hours about the school, their academics and how soon he could become an officer.

"And what happens after you become an officer? What are you working towards?" I asked as I forced myself to swallow a smoothie. Food was not on the menu today as my stomach still hadn't settled.

"I want to be a General. I could work in the Pentagon one day. That's the goal."

"A career man, huh? Owen thought that was his dream too," I smiled as Christine took my phone, "He wanted to be an Admiral. He made it to Captain before his tours were up, and never went back. It's the equivalent of Colonel in the Navy."

"Um, Melly?" Christine asked, a confused look on her face.

"Is it time to go?" I asked reaching for my phone, only to realize it was in Christine's hand. And I left my browser open.

"Are you pregnant?" She said, excited. I sighed and said, "I haven't told Owen yet. So hush. Both of you!"

"I won't tell. Congrats," Charlie said, clearly not wanting to think about that.

"Thank you guys." I laughed.

"Oh, we've got to go." I said as Christine hugged me.

"I'm gonna be an Aunt!"

"I know, Little Doe." I smiled, rubbing her back as she started sniffling.

"We don't want to be late." Charlie said, getting up. Christine let me go, so that I could drop some bills on the table for our meals and grab my bag.

"Now, please behave yourselves. Set a good example. I think the younger one is around 13." I explained as we walked up the steps to the Innovation Center.

"Zara!" I smiled as I soon as I say the dark haired beauty.

"Hi Mel." She smiled as I took in Claire and her nephews. The older turned to look around as his Aunt pointed over to us.

"This is Dr. Mel Grant. She is one of my bosses, but today, she's offered to be tour guide for you guys. Her younger brother and sister are here visiting as well, and said you could tag along with them until I'm done working tonight."

"Hello," I waved to the boys.

"Dr. Grant? You were here at the original park! Is it true you survived an attack by a velociraptor? What was it like?" The younger of the boys, Gray, shot off questions to me a mile a minute.

"Gray, stop." The older, Zach said, putting a hand on his little brother's shoulder.

"Wait, Aunt Claire, you aren't coming with us?"

"Oh, I- I really wish that I could, but um. Tomorrow, I can take you into the control room and show you behind the scenes and all that. That- That's gonna be cool, right?" She smiled strenuously after catching a look that Gray gave her. Her phone went off and she sighed.

"Okay, so I will see you tonight at, uh, six."

"No, don't forget you have the-"

"Right. I will see you tonight at 8pm, or what time do you go to sleep. Or do you go to sleep at different times?" She asked, confused.

"So, I will see you tonight, and take very good care of them." She said to me and I nodded. As she and Zara walked away, the boys turned to look at me again, and that's when I saw Zach checking out Christine. She blushed slightly before smiling down at Gray and saying, "I can answer those questions about my sister."

"She was here with my mom and her Dad. They all survived, but she was hurt by the raptor that had escaped, and was chasing her and our cousins Lexi and Tim through the kitchen of the old Visitor's center." Christine explained to the boy, who was looking excited at hearing the story. I held my hand out for Zach and said, "You're Aunt left you both in capable hands. Call me Mel."

"Okay."

"So, who wants to see Rexy?" I smiled to our group. Christie and Gray's eyes went wide in excitement and Charlie gave a shoulder shrug.

"Come on," I said, pushing down my discomfort.

A voice came over the loudspeaker as we made our way to the T-Rex Kingdom, announcing the next feeding. Charlie helped Gray get to the front of the viewing area. I watched as Zach took a phone call and Christine used the opportunity to check him out. I winked at her and she blushed and shook her head.

As we waited in line for the Gyrospheres, I saw Zach attempt to talk to Christine, who just talked about the park and what she's seen so far. He was trying his hand at flirting, I could tell, as could Charlie, who would stare him down with his arms crossed.

"He seems harmless." I teased Charlie.

"They usually do. Some boy at school ripped her blouse open two weeks ago. He _used_ to be a friend of mine." Charlie said, as I stopped cold.

"How is she?" I asked, knowing how it could hurt a girl's trust in men.

"Not as shaken as she was. I got detention for punching his lights out, and he was expelled. Dad is filing a sexual assault lawsuit against him. Has a buddy in the Attorney General's office handling the case." Charlie smiled, and I snorted.

"You are a good brother Charlie. You protect her."

"I try my hardest." He said as we got to the front of the line. I heard my walkie go off, but chose to turn it down, as they talked about an escaped asset. Claire could handle it, and I didn't want to alarm any tourists.

"How about that? We've jumped ahead," I teased the group as I nodded to Brad, the kid running the attraction today.

"Hey Mel." He said, offering me the first one.

"I'm taking two more," I said, pointing to the four guest behind me.

"I'll call them up faster," He nodded, getting two more ready for the kids.

After I wandered out a bit, waiting for the kids, I spotted Trixie in the distance. I hoped the kids would follow me, because I ended up stopping in front of her. Using my override code, I opened the Gyrosphere and softly called out to her. He head snapped up from her place, laying on the ground and she gave a moan in response.

"You poor girl," I laughed as I heard the kids come up behind me.

"How do we get out?" Christine yelled. I rolled my eyes and gave them my code. AS they stepped out of their hamster balls, they approached her slowly.

"She's not gonna hurt us?" Gray asked, nervously as he reached out to touch her.

"No, she's a Mama's girl. And a big ham," I smiled, rubbing behind her frills. She seemed happy, because she moaned again, happy for all the attention.

"How old is she?"

"She's almost 10. She can live another 20," I explained, as Gray ran his hand over her head and neck.

"She has scars," Christine noted.

"She liked to run into logs, just to get me to come see her. I'd have to drug her so we could get the logs of her head, and then I'd stay until she woke up. She's needy," I teased, leaning up against her.

"How does she think you're her mom?" Zach said confused.

"Imprinting. My husband used it on his raptors, and I used it on every other creature we've hatched." I explained. I heard a beeping coming from the Gyrosphere, but it didn't seem critical.

"We should head back before Patty comes over." I said, noticing the Apatosaurus that loved me like Trixie did.

* * *

As we got back in the hamster balls, I noticed I had a missed call. It was from Claire, but I had no reception to call her back. As I was about to signal for us to move on, I saw Zach and Gray's Gyrosphere heading towards a Restricted gate. I approached, trying to yell for them to turn around. I signaled for Christine and Charlie to follow me. I just about caught up to them when I noticed something moving. Stopping out of it's line of sight, I held my breath as I noticed the large, terrifying carnivore approaching Zach and Gray's hamster ball. As it raised its head, it roared, kicking the ball towards the herd of Ankylosauruses.

One ran towards Christine and Charlie's ball, hitting it with its tail. As the glass shattered, I used the override on mine to jump out and run towards my siblings. As soon as it was clear, I pulled them out, turning to find my own Gyrospehere was damaged.

"No, no," I whispered as I noticed Zach and Gray were in trouble. The dinosaur was smacking the ball against the ground, and Zach had the sense to unbuckle himself and Gray. I ran towards the forest edge, yelling, "Over here!"

Christine was whimpering as we ran, on the verge of a breakdown as the thing chased us across a field. We came to the edge of a waterfall and I said, "Shit."

Zach and Gray were catching up to us, and I said, "Charlie, throw my bag. I know you've got a good arm."

"What?" He said, as I shoved it in his hands and pointed to the clearing next to the bottom of the waterfall. He chucked it as far as he could into some bushes and I sighed, "This is insane."

As Zach and Gray approached, I yelled, "We have to jump. Don't think! Just keep running!"

Grabbing Christine's hand, I pulled her over the edge. She screamed as we hit the water. Keeping her under, until everyone had made it in, I hoped that the boys would stay under too. As the thing roared, I signaled for us to resurface. Charlie helped Gray swim over as Christine clung to Zach's arm.

I was weak from hitting the water, and the adrenaline that was running through me right now, and I said, "Is everyone okay?"

"Are you okay Mel?" Christine gasped as we reached the embankment at the waters edge.

"I don't know. I have to get to a doctor at some point today," I said, holding my stomach lightly as I stood up.

"We jumped," Zach said, smiling over at his little brother.

"What was that thing?" Charlie asked quietly, holding Christine's hair as she breathed through a panic attack. The kids looked up at me as I watched them with careful eyes. I scanned them for injuries, and felt a mental wall build up in my head. I would process later. We needed to survive.

"I don't know," I panted, moving to grab my bag, "But I'm going to find out."


	18. Chapter 18

_**A/N:**_ Hey everyone, I'm on time with week. So enjoy :)

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters.

* * *

"Vivian," I called quietly through the appropriate channel, "It's Mel. What is going on?"

"The Indominus Rex escaped." Her answer made me pause.

"The what Rex?"

"Wu created a hybrid with the board's permission. She's half T-Rex." I heard Simon's voice say.

"What about my permission? Simon, how could you go behind my back? Wait, T-Rex?" I whispered.

"Yes. Wu says she can camouflage and hide from thermal imaging."

"She can sense movement too," I said, stopping in my tracks, as Christine clung to my arm.

"When she escaped, Claire had us call in the ACU but…" Vivian stopped, and I knew.

"It killed my team," I asked, the response was in the dead air I received.

"Hamada went first. Meyers, Killian and Steve made it out, but the rest were killed in the skirmish." She said, and I wiped my eyes.

"Please tell them I'm sorry. We were just chased by that thing. I'm making my way… towards the old park." I said, and Gray looked intrigued as we walked.

"Mel. You haven't been out that way since-" Simon said, as I heard Lowery in the background trying to get a hold of Claire.

"I know. But we need shelter. I have Claire's nephews and my own brother and sister to worry about. Can you get a message to Owen for me? He isn't answering his phone."

"Claire is with him," I heard Zara's voice.

"Tell him I'm safe and we will make our way towards the Innovation Center as fast as we can."

"Be safe Mel."

"I am trying. I have five lives to worry about." I joked.

As the radio went silent, I noticed the jungle getting denser, and the floor seeming thinner, in regards to dirt. I noticed the path, and a golf cart that had been abandoned. Most likely with good reason, as I noticed a bloody helmet. Gray picked it up, but Zach took it from him and tossed it away.

"What do we do now?" Charlie asked.

"We keep moving. We need a vehicle, and we need to make it back to the resort. Everyone listen up," I said, getting his or her attention. All four looked at me, reflecting the same fearful look I must have given my father over 20 years ago.

"Let's make one thing clear. _I_ am in charge. No one wanders off, or runs off without telling me, or a spotter. If someone moves in the trees and it's not one of us, you _run_ and don't look back." I said, looking at Zach. He nodded, realizing he shouldn't have wandered off the path.

"We stick together. I'm going to try my hardest to get us back, but if I fall behind, Charlie, you are in charge."

"But Mel-" He started but I held up a hand.

"You kids need to get out of here first. Remember when we watched the Titanic? Children first. I'm ordering you soldier."

"Yes ma'am." Charlie said with tears in the corner his eyes, pulling his shoulders back and looking very much the future soldier.

"Shelter first. I'm going to access if there is anything we can use in there, and then we move on. The further ahead of this… thing we stay, the better. Got it?" I asked. The kids nodded and I sighed, putting a hand on my stomach.

"Mel, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. No cramps. It's a good sign that I'm not going to miscarry." I said, and Gray furrowed his brow.

"Whoa, you're pregnant, and you just jumped off a 35 ft. waterfall?" Zach asked as we walked.

"I had no choice." I said as I carefully walked up the steps of the old Visitor's Centre. I had flashbacks coming at me from all angles. Screaming, the smell of Tim's singed hair from the electric fence zap, and the burning, ripping sensation of the raptor's claw at my collarbone. Pressing a hand to my scar, I breathed.

Opening the door, I was hit with the musty smell of decaying leaves and vegetation on the ground, and stagnant water. I stepped towards the scattered skeleton of the T-Rex, and Zach grabbed a single bone. As I kneeled down to pick up the fallen banner under my foot, Christine beat me to it and handed it to Zach shyly. He smiled at her softly, before asking his brother, "Hey, do you still have those matches?"

As Zach lit the torch, he passed it to me, making another for Charlie. He walked beside his brother, as I held onto Christine's hand and led her down a hallway. I stopped in front of the mural, depicting a raptor and remembered Lexi's terrified look as the shadow of the actual one loomed behind it.

"Keep moving," I said, shaking my head and looking around a corner. I noticed it was the back of the Centre, and I found familiar coats hanging up on racks. I looked into the doorway across from the hung coats and saw two vehicles. Using the torch, I found a familiar looking helmet, and smirked at the thought of Tim seeing this again.

"1992 Jeep Wrangler Sahara, Sand Beige." Gray said, and I said, "You really know your stuff."

"Okay, I can work with this," I sighed, popping the hood and saying, "I need Charlie and Zach to go back outside and grab the battery from that golf cart. It won't be a strong enough battery for more than what we need, but it's gonna have to do."

"Okay," Charlie said, nodding to Zach.

"Hey," I said softly, getting them to stop and turn to me.

"Quickly. Anything moves, you run." I said sternly.

"Yes ma'am." They said, before leaving.

"Christine, I need you to look for a Jerry Can."

"A what?" She asked.

"The red thing your Dad fills with gas for the lawn mower. Take Gray with you. I need to find a conditioner."

"For your hair?" Gray said confused.

"For the gas," I said, looking over the shelf of bottles. Grabbing the one that would work in this pinch and a bottle of oil, I threw that in and waited for Christine and Gray to come back with the fuel.

"Perfect," I said as Charlie and Zach came back in.

"Wrench?" I called.

"Uh, socket?" Christine asked, showing me one.

"No, the adjustable ones," I said as Zach brought the new battery over.

"Zach, you do this. We need to find the keys." I said, getting in the Jeep and looking around. Flipping the visor down, I watched them fall to my lap.

"Thank you John for hiring lazy workers," I said, under my breath.

"Okay, turn it over." Zach said, and I prayed this worked as I turned the key. It choked for a moment, before puttering to life.

"Everyone in." I said, as Charlie helped Christine into the back with Zach, and Gray was squished in between them.

"Hold on tight," I said, revving the engine and throwing it into drive. I wasn't stopping for anything as we raced back to the main road. Christine looked ready to crash after all the excitement, if you could call it that.

"Everyone, close your eyes for a minute. We are almost out of danger." I said as we busted through the old gate. I saw Gray turn in my peripheral vision and he said, "Go. GO!"

Noticing the pterodactyls and dimorphodons heading towards the park, I wasn't sure why Vivian and Lowery hadn't already stunned them through their implants.

As we approached Gate 5, I started honking, and we all yelled. Getting out of the Jeep and directing the kids in through the security door, we started making our way through the crowd as the flying predators attacked the general public. Keeping hands on both sets of siblings, I saw Claire and Owen in the distance.

"My god," I said as I watched a woman being taken from right in front of us and dropped into the Mosasaurus tank. Zach and Gray ran to see if they could help her, and Christine and Charlie stayed with me as I called for them to come back. As we reached them, we watched Mosie swallow the woman and the predator bird, almost whole.

I watched though as Owen and a team of security started using tranqs on the flock of birds headed towards us. I grabbed the kids by the shirt and started pulling them along. Running towards Owen, I watched his face soften and his gun lower.

Just as he was about to move, a dimorphodon pushed him down and started snapping at him. A pterodactyl crashed into something behind us and I pulled the kids out of the way of its bill. I watched as Claire grabbed a gun, hitting the dimorphodon on the head and shot it three times. Running up to Owen, I watched him, get up and hug Claire.

"Owen," I yelled, as he released her and I crashed into his arms.

"Mel, God I was so worried." He said, and I could hear the emotion in his voice as he said, "I love you."

"Owen, I love you too. What the hell happened?" I asked, confused how this started.

"We need to talk to Lowery." Claire said as Christine clung to Owen.

"You both better have a damn good explanation for all of this," I said, my 'no bullshit' voice seeping out.

"Lowery, I'm on my way back to you. We've got Mel and all the kids."

"That's a bad idea. The board assigned Emergency Ops to Ingen's private security division. This guys Hoskins is in charge. He has this insane plan to use the raptors to hunt the Indominus." I heard over the phone as I walked beside Claire.

"What do you mean 'use the raptors'?"

"Son of a bitch."

"You shouldn't say bitch," Gray said.

"Take the kids, get them some place safe." Owen said as we turned to the sound of the gate doors moving, as if someone was using a battering ram. As the gate started to open, we all turned to run to the vehicle I had left there earlier in the day. The kids were yelling for Owen to hurry up and drive, as the hoard of screaming and panicking people overwhelmed the walkway between the paddocks.

"This does not feel safe," Zach said as Gray sat on his lap.

"Can we stay with you?" Gray said and Christine said, "Ditto."

"I am never letting you out of my sight again," Claire said, as the younger boys shook their head and said, "No, no, no. Him."

"Yeah, definitely him." Gray said, and I couldn't help it, I let out a small chuckle.


	19. Chapter 19

_**A/N:**_ Hey guys! Quick update this morning because I'm currently on the road. Enjoy!

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park, or any of its characters. Just Mel.

* * *

As we drove up to the Raptor pen, I felt nauseous. I held it down, because I had no barf bags here, nor did I want to throw up in my vehicle. Claire explained how the board went behind my back with Wu. Simon was even in on it, and wanted to surprise me. Surprise! I hated the idea of genetic modification in the first place, but to actually follow through, when I was supposed to be the final say? I was beyond pissed, but Claire explained that Simon had gone up in Jurassic 001, and flew the ACU gun over the Aviary. He had died. I couldn't be mad as I grieved the loss of my boss. My only one. As we stopped dead in front of the raptor pen, I wiggled out of my seat beside Claire in the front. That was an awkward ride up. The three of us stalked towards Hoskins and his goons.

"The mother hen has finally arrived-" Hoskins was cut short by the sucker punch that Owen threw at his jaw.

"Get the hell out of here, and stay away from my animals." Owen said, in a deadly tone.

"Hoskins, you wanted this to happen. You son of a bitch." Claire said.

"Oh Jesus. How many more people have to die before this mission starts to make sense to you?"

"It's not a mission, it's a field test." Barry said, an angry tone. I hugged him, happy he was unhurt, before Hoskins said, "This is an InGen situation. Okay, there are going to be cruise ships, that show up here at first light. Everyone's going to get off this island. You're all gonna hear a news story about how you all, saved lives. No, better yet, how your animals saved lives."

Owen looked over at Barry, who said, "They've never been out of containment. It's crazy."

He looked over at me and I sighed, as Hoskins yelled, "Let's move it out!"

"This is happening, with or without you." Hoskins said, staring Owen down.

Owen pointed to a map, as Claire got the kids out of the Benz, "We know that she is in Sector is game we call Hide and Seek. It's a scent drill, we've done a dozen times with these animals."

"When they get on target, and they will get on target, wait to engage. Velociraptor's are pack hunter. They like to herd the animal into a kill zone. That's when we take our shot, wait on my command and give it everything we've got. We got one good target gentlemen, but do not shoot my raptors. Please." I walked over to the cage with Owen, as Claire kept the kids outside. Taking off my cotton shirt that was now filthy with mud and sweat, I watched Blue and the girls sniff the air, happy to see me.

"Easy Blue, easy." Owen said, calming down his beta.

"Echo," I crooned as the Omega of the pack purred to me. I leant down to kiss her head, whispering, "Stay safe my love."

"Owen," Gray called, as I watched Owen. He turned to walk towards the outside bars.

"Are they safe?"

"No, they're not." He said, speaking the truth.

"Why is Dr. Grant in there?" Zach said, as I moved to speak to Delta and Charlie.

"She's my mate. They trust her, and listen to her as much as they listen to me."

"What are their names?"

"Well, you've got Charlie, Echo, Delta, and this one here is called Blue, she's the Beta."

"Whose the Alpha?" Gray asked, and I grinned to myself as I moved to comfort Blue. She chuffed, and I hushed her saying, "You are still my girls. I know you can smell it, but I still love you."

"You're looking at him kid." Owen smiled, as Claire moved to get the boys to a safe spot.

"Follow Claire, I'll be along shortly."

"As much as I don't want you out there, I need you in case something happens." Owen said quietly.

"Owen, I can't. For two reasons. I have a clause in my contract that states I can seize control of the park, operations and InGen. I'm playing that card."

"What is the other reason Mel? I need you out there! The girls listen to you!" He said, getting upset.

"Because I'm pregnant you moron!" I yelled at him, and Barry stopped what he was doing outside the cage to let out a fully belly laugh.

"Oh," He said, before his face broke out in a 1000-Watt smile, picking me up and twirling me around.

"I love you." He said, sounding unsure of if he would come back.

"I love you too. Come back, you hear me? I'm not raising this child alone."

"I am gonna try. If not, tell this baby that I love them." He said, kissing me softly and tenderly.

"Please, come back to me." I said, kissing him again.

No more words were spoken as I said goodbye to the girls, hugged Barry once again and walked slowly towards the MVU. Christine was already huddled in the back against Charlie, who was putting on a brave face. If he could survive this, he could survive anything. I got into the driver's seat, as Claire still seemed shaken up about the events of the day.

"Lowery, Viv?" I said as I called on their personal channels.

"Mel! You're okay." Lowery said relieved.

"Listen to me. I need you to shut down all power to the back up generators, and the lab." I said softly. Claire's eyes widened in confusion at my comment.

"What?"

"I'm invoking the Shutdown Clause of my contract. I am seizing control of InGen." I said, and Claire let out a breath she'd been holding in.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Turn up the heat in the cryo chambers. Use override code Whiskey Tango Foxtrot." I said as I watched Owen show the Raptors the Indominus's tracker.

"Yes ma'am." Lowery said, a slight chuckle to his voice.

"Send the alert to any… remaining personnel, that responsibility and authority has fallen to me."

"Mel, I'd be honored." He said, in a dramatic tone, before I overheard Claire talking to the kids in the back.

"Mel, are we really going to stay here? I feel like we should get up to the control room."

"Lowery can handle things up there. We need to be ready in case this thing goes sideways." I whispered, as I watched the raptors shooting out of their opened cages.

"It's up to them now." I said, watching their camera feeds.

"Your husband's a badass," Zach said as they watched through the small window. I smiled to myself as I watched Owen riding his bike alongside our lizard children. As they slowed, I watched intently. Owen was telling the InGen crew to be alert, when I heard Claire say, "No. You know what? You don't need to watch this."

She closed the window to the back, regardless of the protesting kids. And then we watched the carnage unfold. Someone told them to open fire and it wasn't Owen, because they missed the Indominus, sending the raptors scattering.

"No!" I said, loudly, as I watched the feed to Echo's camera cut suddenly, and the sight of an explosion in the other three camera's.

"I'm sorry sweet girl," I said, wiping my eyes. Claire looked sympathetic, until I saw Blue's feed as she ripped apart another InGen soldier.

"Now's a good time to get out of here," I said, as I thought about guys returning here, only with a raptor trailing them for dinner. Turning on the vehicle, I yelled, "Hold on tight!"

A small yelp sounded in the back as I started the truck and shot out of the raptor compound. The window opened and I heard Charlie say, "Uh, we've got incoming on our six."

"Damn," I whispered as I looked in the side mirror. Two were trailing us, and gaining fast, even though I was punching it.

"Kids, you're going to open the back door," I said, and Claire said, "WHAT?"

"Are you crazy Mel?" Christine asked, looking terrified.

"Just trust me. Charlie, before you do-"

"Door's open!" I heard Zach say and I yelled, "Charlie, get the stun rod under the bench. It's strapped to the wall. Zach, get the tank strapped to the other wall."

I was pushing the truck as fast as it would go, but I could see the raptors gaining on us.

"What do I do with the tank?" Zack asked, and I said, "Point the bottom out the opening and wait for my signal."

"We're pulling a Die Hard? Oh yes!" Charlie said as Claire attempted to watch from the tiny window.

"Ready?" I yelled, as tried to avoid the potholes.

"NOW!" I yelled. Charlie busted the valve off the tank, and as it shot out of the vehicle, he shot it with the stun gun. The volts set off the oxygen in the tank, igniting the middle of the road, and distracting the raptors.

"Did you see that?" Zach asked Claire, and Gray said, "I can't wait to tell Mom."

"No, you are not telling your mother any of this." Claire yelled, panicked.

I sighed in relief, "Close the doors."

As I heard them shut, I saw Blue running beside the truck, and swerved to miss her.

"Why don't you hit her?" Claire asked, before Blue's head smashed through the window on my side.

"Because, she still my child," I growled, soon enough her head dislodged itself as she didn't find grip on the side of the van.

"Hey!" I heard Owen yell.

"We need to get indoors. Follow me." He said, signaling for me to drive towards the resort.


	20. Chapter 20

_**A/N:**_ Hey guys! I nearly got this to you on time this week. Reviews are appreciated.

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park, or any of its characters.

* * *

"Control room, this way." Claire said as we dashed inside the Innovation Center.

"They evacuated the lab," I said, noticing the viable embryos left to die, as I had Lowery cut the power to the locked machines. Even if Wu left the island, he wasn't leaving with anything resembling a dinosaur. My command made sure of it.

As we walked towards the opened secret panel in Wu's office, I noticed the screens showing a new DNA strand, and the proposed specs of whatever abomination Wu was trying to create.

"What were they doing?" Claire asked, horrified at the creations in glass habitats.

"That's above your pay grade honey," Hoskins said, scaring the group of us.

"Where's Henry? I want to strangle him myself." I growled to Vic.

"Dr. Wu works for us." He smirked.

"That's not a real dinosaur," Gray said, pointing to the screen as Hoskins came around.

"It ain't kid. But somebody's got to make sure that this company has a future. Imagine, that one. A fraction of the size, deadly intelligent, able to hide from the most advanced military technology. A living weapon unlike anything we've ever seen. You see, millions of years of evolution, what did we learn?" He asked, our group.

"That guys like you are gigantic dickwads that don't deserve to breath." I said, to which Charlie smiled, and Vic gave an amused chortle.

"Nature is the gift that- OH SHIT!" Vic said, noticing Delta before I heard her coming through the door. Owen immediately put us behind his back, shielding us from Delta's chomping jaws, as she narrowed in on Vic. She had him in a kill zone.

"Easy, we're on the same side," Vic said, and I signaled to Owen that we should leave. Just as she lunged for him, I pushed Christine and Charlie out the door, making sure that they didn't see what Delta was about to do to Vic. He screamed as we ran, and I pulled Christine's sobbing form back towards the Control room, but we all stopped and turned as Delta came crashing through one of the glass walls.

"This way!" I yelled as we ran back towards the entrance for the park.

Gray managed to bring a hologram up of a dilophosaurus, and it scared Delta into stopping her pursuit. WE made it out the doors and back to Main Street, where Claire shrieked as Blue appeared out of nowhere. Delta pushed herself through the doors of the innovation center to cover our back escape route, and Charlie's shrill call came from our left. I tried to cover Christine and Charlie as best as I could, but as they cornered us, I saw there was no escape.

"So that's how it is, huh?" Owen said, looking right at Blue. Blue snapped at him, as he tossed his gun to the ground, and held up his hands.

"Blue, cut that shit out." I said, and her head looked around Owen to me. She sniffed the air, and let out a purring sound, as did Delta and Charlie.

"Mel," Owen said softly, as he reached for the headset still attached to Blue. She snarled gently and he said, "Easy."

As he took the headset off, she seemed to appreciate it, as she moved her head.

"That's it," he breathed, smiling at our raptor child. Delta nudged my hand, gently with her head, and I just about jumped out of my skin. But I bit back my tears to gently caress her scaly head.

Suddenly, we heard a louder, and deeper velociraptor call, and I brought Christine back behind me, as well as Charlie. As the Indominus came into view and stood in front of us, it called to Blue. But Blue turned her head back, and I swear I saw a mischievous glint in her eye as she chuffed to Owen.

Blue screeched at the I-Rex and she didn't seem to like that because she swiped at her, throwing her into a pillar. As she fell, Blue remained motionless, and I wanted to cry. But as the Indominus looked at our group victoriously, there was one thing it forgot. Delta and Charlie screeched at her, charging at Owen's whistle, and attacking the unarmored skin on her back. I ran towards the toy booth that Claire had led the kids to. I carefully jumped over, and Charlie helped catch me as I lost my balance.

"74, 58," I heard Gray whisper to himself, "We need more."

"More what?" Claire asked, clearly too terrified to understand.

"More teeth," I said, looking over at Charlie. He nodded, understanding that I wanted him to look out for his sister. Lunging at the first aid kit, I ripped it open and grabbed the flare, and the park's walkie talkie, and jumping over the counter. Christine's cries were muffled by her brother's hand, and I bolted across Main Street to the back alley behind the shops. Punching in my code to open the doors, I knew I had a limited time frame.

"Lowery, are you there?" I yelled into the walkie as I ran.

"Hey, where are you?" He responded.

"I need you to open Paddock 9." I said, continuing to sprint.

"Paddock 9? Are you kidding Mel?"

"No, just do it!" I yelled as I looked straight at the CCTV camera outside the paddock door.

"I hope you know what you're doing."

"Making this up as I go along," I said as the door began to open. I took a deep breath and prayed that I wouldn't trip.

"REXY!" I yelled, triggering the flare and waving it around, though it felt like I was moving in slow motion. The older dinosaur turned to look at me, and started advancing towards me. I almost locked up, but screamed and ran for my life, all while the monster from my nightmares chased me. I ran through the fear, the pain, the PTSD and as I neared Main Street, I felt her start to gain on me. I drew my arm back and tossed the flare into the air, hitting the I-Rex directly on the back, distracting her from her pursuit of food in the toy booth.

"Don't mess with my family," I whispered as I ducked for cover as Rexy busted through the skeleton on display of a spinosaurus, to roar at the I-Rex.

"Run!" I yelled to them, as the Rex and the I-Rex met in an epic clash. Owen got the group out of the booth and ran them over to where I was hiding behind a rock. And just as it seemed the Rex was going to give up on the fight, a chuff came out of the silence. Looking over, I saw Blue, running full tilt at the I-Rex and shrieking in challenge. As she hopped on the Indominus's back, the Rex got up, snapping her jaws around the I-Rex's neck and head, swinging her back towards the rocks we were behind. As we all dashed to evade the debris they were creating, we weaved into a gift shop, only for Blue to be thrown through a window. But just like her sister had earlier, she got up and continued her chase.

"Well, there goes Margaritaville," I said dryly as the Rex tossed the I-Rex into my favorite bar. Owen gave me a look and I said, "I'm sorry. I use humor as a coping mechanism."

As we turned back, I saw Blue and Rexy corner the I-Rex, and she wasn't happy about it as she got up. But just as she let out her final roar, Mosie came out of nowhere and pulled the abomination into the water and to the bottom of her cage. With a final roar from the watery depths, it was over.

We almost breathed a sigh of relief, but I remembered we had one final dinosaur to deal with now. As Blue chuffed to Rexy, I noticed the Rex start to sway. It seemed that old age and her injuries finally caught up to her, because she swayed once more before collapsing.

I watched from a distance, as the thing that haunted my nightmares for most of my life, looked me straight in the eye and took her final breath.

Owen and Christine tried to pull me back because I needed to see for myself. I shook myself out of their holds and slowly walked over, with Blue at my side. Carefully reaching for the top of her snout, I caressed her scaly skin, shuddering in fear. But I knew I needed to face her

"You were a misunderstood creature, and you deserved a better life than what you had. You saved me once before, and now you've saved me again. Goodbye Rexy. You won't have died in vain." I said, as I slowly reached out to touch her head. Blue nudged my hand, and I realized that Mosie could pop back up at any moment. As I leaned on the raptors neck, she gave a small chuff in response to my touch.

Just as I moved back to the gift shop and turned, I saw Mosie jump out of the water and reach for her next meal. I jumped further away to keep myself from Rexy's sharp teeth or Mosie seeing me. As she dragged Rexy to the depths of her tank, Owen grabbed my hand, and kissed my head sweetly.

"You have a death wish, don't you?" He said, gently laying his hand on my stomach.

"I needed closure," I said, feeling myself start to get dizzy.

"Okay, everybody, we need to join the evacuation group." Owen said, picking me up bridal, and started walking.

"Blue, good girl." I said softly to the Velociraptor. She chuffed at me and Owen motioned with his head for her to run off. She got the message, giving off a small call and running off towards the Innovation Center.

Lowery came out after she had turned to head off into the jungle, and ran to join our group.

"Where are Viv and Zara?"

"I sent them out first thing to the Evac location." He said, taking my hand gently.

"Owen," I said, looking up at him. He looked down at me and said, "You and the baby need rest. Who knows when you'll get it next. Just close your eyes."

I barely heard him say that he loved me as I fell into unconsciousness.


	21. Chapter 21

_**A/N:**_ Hey guys! Enjoy this week's chapter!

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of its characters.

* * *

The next morning found us in an airplane hangar with the other 2000 plus survivors of Jurassic World. I was having a saline drip as I was dehydrated and Owen demanded the doctors make sure I was healthy before letting me off. He told me that when he was searching for me and the kids, he came across Patty and another 5 Apatosaurus' that the I-Rex had torn into, but not eaten. He was there with her as she took her final breath, and I cried a bit. They were like my kids, I had raised them, trained them, made sure they didn't get their heads stuck in trees.

But the worst was the knowledge that Wu had somehow escaped unscathed. I was going to put out a worldwide search for him, if he so much as dared start Ingen back up for the militaries use.

As soon as I was well enough, I was allowed to walk over to the cot where my brother and sister were being treated for minor cuts and bruises. As I sat down with them, I saw my father, Ellie and Mark emerge from the crowd now entering the hangar to search for their loved ones. I watched as Claire spotted her own sister and made the boys stand up.

Owen waved my father and Ellie over, all the while, I'm crying that I can have a comforting hug from my father after the shit that just went down. Ellie was sobbing, as she weaved through the cots to embrace her children.

"Mom," Christine cried, hugging her mother tightly as my father wrapped my in the tightest hug he'd ever given me.

"Daddy," I sighed, as he cried into my neck.

"She saved us," I heard Charlie's voice say as Ellie cried. When my Dad let me go, Ellie had me crushed in her embrace, sobbing thank you's to me.

"I would never have let anything hurt them," I sobbed to my mother.

"Are you okay?" she asked, cradling my face after she released me from her python grip.

"Yeah. More than okay," I said, looking at Owen.

"I'm pregnant," I said, giving a slight smile. Her eyes widened in realization that she not only could have lost me, but her future grandchild.

"Mel, that's the best news I've heard today," Dad joked, and we all laughed, as Owen and my Dad hugged. It was quick, but manly as he congratulated us, and dried his eyes. Christine found her way underneath my arm and stuck to my side awhile longer. I noticed Lowery, Viv and Zara waiting on the wings to hug us, saying how happy they were that we all survived the ordeal. But as I saw Claire approach Zara from behind, Zara must have noticed my attention shift, because she whipped around and sobbed for joy.

Claire and her embraced, Zara planting many sweet kisses over Claire's face in an attempt to convey her elation. Claire, smiled, and gently held Zara's face before crashing their lips together. I cheered as did Owen and Lowery. Viv was confused, but clapped with us.

"There goes my plan to ask her out," A thick French accent said in my ear, and I turned to throw my arms around Barry's neck.

"Thank god. Owen is hard enough to handle by myself," I teased as I released him from the hug.

"Glad you made it buddy."

"I thought with Blue I was a goner," He said seriously.

"Mel," Viv said, getting my attention.

"What's wrong?"

"The media is already asking for answers."

"Why Mel?" Owen asked, looking between the two of us.

"She has a clause in her contract with Masrani Global and InGen. She can seize control of the company if things went sideways. The Shutdown Clause." Claire said as Zara rested her head on Claire's shoulder.

"What does that mean then?" Owen asked simply.

"I've already seized control. I'm now the head of Masrani Global and InGen. And this is all about to be on my head." I said, feeling my face drain of color.

"No, I refuse to let you take the blame. You had nothing to do with this."

"The media won't care." I sighed, realizing that I was about to be crucified either way.

"Mel, you don't have to do this now," Owen said.

"I've already waited long enough. They are already concocting lies about this. I need to set them straight."

I walked, somewhat easily to the front of the hangar, where several local newstations were already filming, but quickly spotted me, running over with their cameras.

"Dr. Grant. Can you tell us what happened on Isla Nublar?"

"What was the dinosaur that escaped captivity?"

"Why was it even created in the first place?"

"I will address all of you at once. There was an incident that caused a genetically modified hybrid to escape. That hybrid was named the Indominus Rex. It was created by order of Mr. Masrani and the board of directors, without my knowledge, and behind my back. I would have shut down the program if I had known. The board wanted a new attraction that would spike our sales, and they didn't realize that this could also be very dangerous."

"The escape happened while I was out in the Gyrosphere Valley with my siblings and the nephews of my co-worker. I wasn't aware of this creature existence until it attacked us. Once I was able to communicate with my Control Room team, Mr. Masrani explained the situation to me as everyone listened. The I-Rex was able to hide from thermal detection by camouflaging herself, and then use a distraction to make us think she escaped. When the door was opened as they needed to figure out if she truly did escape, she used the opportunity to escape. Our Asset Containment Unit was not able to capture her quietly like Mr. Masrani wanted, and they perished. When I learned that Simon Masrani was killed in a helicopter crash, while trying to defend the parks visitors from this monsters rampage, leadership fell to me."

"Why didn't you shut down the park sooner?" One reporter asked.

"I was out in the jungle trying to hide from this monster. It chased us and we had to hide out in the old Visitor's Centre and miraculously get a car running. And as we approached the park, the pteranodons and dimorphodons started attacking. As soon as I found my husband we learned a man called Vic Hoskins, head of InGen's private security company was planning on using our Velociraptors to fight the Indominus. But we soon discovered that the Indominus was part raptor, as it swayed the four research test subjects, and turned them on us."

"To evade the raptors we tried to make it to the control room where we could be safe, but found Vic Hoskins was taking the embryos we had ready for implantation of host eggs, and was trying to take them off sight. I had already given the order to shut down all machines, back up generators and power supply to the lab, to kill any remaining embryos."

"Is the Indominus still alive?"

"Where is Vic Hoskins?"

"Will InGen be taking legal action against Dr. Henry Wu?"

"Dr. Henry Wu will be held accountable for his actions that led to these events, as will InGen. As he has signed a noncompete for 10 years after he or InGen terminates his employment, I do not believe he will take the risk of starting any work with any other lab or organization. Vic Hoskins perished at the hands of the very creatures he wanted to control. He intended to use the raptors and other genetically modified hybrids to evade military technology, and use them as weapons. That was never the purpose of InGen, and I can tell you that John Hammond must be rolling over in his grave right now. Now, the Indominus was killed after I let out Rexy, our resident t-Rex. The raptors were losing the fight with her after they turned back to our side, and Rexy was able to push the I-Rex close enough to the Mosasaurus tank that Mosie finished her off."

"So the T-Rex is loose on the island?"

"No, she died almost immediately after the I-Rex was dragged under by Mosie. She was there at the original park, and the injuries she sustained in her fight with the Indominus are what sent her off."

"So the island is safe again?"

"This island was never safe as long as dinosaurs existed on it. But I will be travelling back with my husband to assess the damages and its clean up cost. Jurassic World will be closed until further notice. As head of InGen and Masrani Global, I will be evaluating the parks safety for clean up, and whether or not it should _ever_ reopen."

The uproar from the reporters was unanimous and I said, "No further comment."

"Dr. Grant!" The reporters called as I walked back towards Owen, who threw his arm around me in support.

"You handled that well," Claire said, and I looked over at my Dad. He nodded, "I'm proud to call you my daughter."

"Thanks Dad. Can I sleep yet?" I asked Owen, leaning against his chest as he sat me down in his lap.

"Sleep Mel. I've got you." Owen said, resting his hand on my stomach protectively as I closed my eyes.


	22. Chapter 22

_**A/N:**_ Enjoy this week's chapter. Hope it gets you through the week!

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park, or any of its characters.

* * *

When I reopened my eyes, I was lying on a bed, as Owen and Claire talked about our predicament. I would have to stay here, with no doctor to monitor my pregnancy, while we determined which dinosaurs had survived the attack, the clean up costs, and if the world would ever trust Jurassic World again.

"Mel," Owen said, noticing my open eyes.

"I know I know. I shouldn't stay." I sighed.

"Well, we do need to salvage our belongings before we leave."

"The board of directors are on their way, according to Claire. They want to speak with you."

"Of course they do." I moaned.

"No, not to get mad at you. They need the official documentation of your takeover for the notary and division of assets for Simon. He named you his successor after all."

"What about his kids?"

"Rich brats with drinking problems. He apparently wrote them out of his will because they refused to take any part in his many companies." Dad said, smirking at me as Claire came into the room.

"Well, it's officially worldwide news."

"What? The park?"

"Well, yes and no. More than that, your speech. It's getting positive feedback in light of what happened. You staying behind to help clean up, has given us some good PR. Not enough, but some."

"Did you add in the fact that I'm pregnant? The media would go crazy," I laughed.

"We won't put you on display like that. You aren't a news story Mel." Claire said, handing me a water bottle.

"Doc came and checked you over again while you were asleep. Our baby is healthy, but you are still dehydrated. Eat and drink," Owen smiled.

"When will the board arrive?" I asked, sitting up and shoving a piece of apple in my mouth.

"3 hours. We need to get you presentable."

"I'm not changing into a skirt," I said, holding up my finger strictly.

"Please, just this once. For presentation's sake?"

"Fine, but I'm changing into my khaki shorts and a t-shirt afterwards. It's fucking hot down here." I said, fanning myself with a Room Service menu.

"Mel, we're in an air-conditioned room." Owen said, looking at me like I was crazy.

"Yeah, so?" I said, fanning harder, "I feel this heat worse right now because of my hormones. Bring me chocolate."

"Okay," he said, backing away slowly.

"Wait, come cuddle me," I said, and Claire's laugh reverbed throughout the room, surprising us all.

"I haven't heard you laugh in years," I smiled.

"After the last couple days, I needed too." She said, looking relaxed.

* * *

When the board arrived, Claire had managed to get me in a breezy white skirt and a flowing mint blouse. Where she managed to find them on short notice, I will never know. But I stood on the tarmac as the board all exited the plane, and the army of lawyers followed as well.

"Dr. Grant," they all greeted me, as I shook their hands.

"Gentlemen, I look forward to getting to know you all personally. As well as learning your names," I joked and a few cracked smiles at that.

"Shall we discuss the Will somewhere private?" A man said, as he emerged from the group, and I could tell he was one of the lawyers. He reminded me so much of Donald for Hammond's park.

"Yes. We have the conference room back at the hotel. If you will all please find a seat in the cars I've procured for you." I said, as Claire waved the caravan of cars forward. The board members all piled into the cars, as I found my spot in the first car with Claire.

"They seem… okay. No one has given me disapproving looks… Yet." I said, noticing her look of contemplation.

"I think I'm gonna ask Zara to marry me."

"Wow, way out of left field there," I said, smiling at her. She gave a small smile back and said, "I promised myself I would ask her if I got out of there alive."

"You know she'll say yes," I said, taking Claire's hand gently.

"If she does, would you be my Matron of Honor?" She asked.

"Oh Claire, of course!" I exclaimed, as we pulled up to the hotel's entrance. She gave me a quick hug and said, "Thank you."

"Anything for my best friend," I smiled, getting out first, and waiting for the rest of the board and the army of lawyers to gather in the hotel lobby.

As we all entered the room Claire had booked for this meeting, I was aware of a lawyer setting up documents as soon as he sat down. Sitting across from the board with Claire by my side, I said, "Now, before we start, I'd like to have a moment of silence for the lives lost in the last few days. One in particular, for our owner and founder of Masrani Global, Simon Masrani."

As we all sat in quiet contemplation, I saw a lawyer cross his heart and send up a small prayer under his breath. It warmed my heart that even the sharks had hearts enough to ask God to allow him to pass on.

"Thank you. Simon meant a lot to me, as a boss and a dear friend. But his passing could have been prevented, and that's what I hope we are all here to discuss." I nodded to the group.

"Thank you Dr. Grant. We are here to discuss with you, your future with Masrani Global, and InGen. Now, I yield the floor to Mr. Aldrich."

"Thank you. I would first off like to read off Simon Masrani's Last Will and Testament, followed by the recorded DVD of him explaining his choices. His family has already be notified of his death, and have asked that their shares simply be transferred to them."

"That's horrible," I whispered to Claire.

"His kids are monsters," She responded as the Lawyer got out the official Will.

"The Last Will and Testament of Simon Oliver Masrani. To my children, I leave shares of my estate, worth $250 million each. Personal possessions of mine are to be divided off evenly amongst my 3 children, Kavita Masrani, Naveen Masrani, and Sanjeev Masrani."

"To my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Melissa Grant, I leave the controlling shares in my company, and the responsibilities and title of Chief Executive Officer of Masrani Global and it's divisons. I trust your judgment will lead both companies to new understanding of our world, past and future. Again to my dear friend Mel, Dr. Grant, I leave my planes, my estate in Washington, DC, the estate in Maui, the estate in Monte Carlo, and my penthouse in New York."

"To my ex-wife Ada, I leave the matching coffee table to the pair we split up in the divorce. And I request that my ashes be brought home to India for my family to lay my spirit to rest."

I heard Claire's sniffle and I knew that his last request would be difficult. But I would see that it was done. Whatever remained of his body, I would send home to Ada Masrani.

"To Claire Dearing," The lawyer read, "I leave my favorite vacation house in Costa Rica and a small gift of $20 million dollars. You deserve a vacation, and maybe this way, you'll finally take one."

I couldn't help it. I laughed to myself, as Claire looked shocked that Simon would make such a joke in his Will.

"And so concludes the Last Will and Testament, of Simon Oliver Masrani."

The room was silent as he spoke his last word.

"Jurassic World, International Genetic Technologies, Masrani Energy, Mascom Network, Tatsuo Technology, Timack Construction, Aerospace Dynamics, Axis Boulder, Medixal Health, Data Analysys and subsidiaries are herby in ownership and leadership of Dr. Melissa Jean Grant, Chief Executive Officer."

"Please sign here," a Lawyer said, laying a document in front of me and showing me where I was to sign, print and initial my name. Doing so slowly, as I realized all I was signing myself up for.

"Regarding the division of assets of Simon Oliver Masrani, Claire Dearing has been granted ownership of the deceased's Costa Rica estate and a sum of $20 million dollars. Please sign here," Another lawyer said, putting documents in front of Claire. She gave me a quick glance before she signed.

"And so concludes the division of assets." Mr. Aldrich said.

"Thank you Mr. Aldrich." One board member I remembered, whose name was Jake, said before saying, "Now to get to a serious matter. Regarding InGen and Jurassic World."

"I agree." I said, sitting up straighter, "But let's first jump straight into the matter of who the fuck though it would be okay to mess around with the DNA of two highly aggressive dinosaurs and think we'd get away with it?"

"We were given a pitch by Dr. Wu, and he assured us that nothing would go wrong."

"The man that was working a deal behind your backs? He was using our park as a testing ground for a side project for the government."

"We cannot place blame until we have all the facts."

"You want the facts?" I said standing up, and pacing.

"Okay, here they are. One: You let a known Dr. Frankenstein mess around with the DNA of prehistoric creatures to line your wallets. Two: Said creature got loose because this was done behind my back. Three: People died in an attempt to re-capture the I-Rex. Four: She caused the worst event to unfold on Isla Nublar. Period."

"Five: Her escape created a ripple effect that had several employees, good friends and your former boss killed."

"Six: There will not be a single dinosaur remade until _I_ think we should."

"Mr. Aldrich, please read paragraph 18, sub-section B. The Shutdown Clause." I said, sliding my copy of my contract over to Mr. Aldrich.

"Should the need arise, or the employee deems it necessary, she may invoke this clause, whereas she gains control over any and all aspects of park, business or research, if she feels it will not benefit the company, or may be dangerous to the park's patrons or employees. Effective on date of initialization, she may overrule the Board of Director's decisions, or a direct command from the CEO. The use of this clause will subject responsibilities of Park Director and ownership of InGen to the employee."

"Thank you Mr. Aldrich. Please read the date of initialization at the bottom of that page."

"March 7th, 2005." He read.

"Since March 2005, I have run the park efficiently, and with a profit that help you all retire early. 10 years. And things were just fine the way they were, until you went behind my back and said yes to creating a monster."

"It wasn't our intent-"

"No, but it must have been, because why else would I be kept in the dark about this? I know why, because I would have shut that shit down!"

"Mel," Claire spoke up softly, glancing at my stomach. Her subtle reminder made me take a deep breath. Stress was bad for the baby.

"I'm not here to place blame. I'm here to tell you what I'm going to do now." I said, much calmer.

"I am going to Isla Nublar. I will assess the clean up costs, the repairs, and if we should even reopen."

"I believe we should." One lawyer spoke up and then went white at my face.

"Why?"

"I- I-"

"No, I genuinely want to know your reasoning."

"I guess, to show how we can overcome. How this will make us stronger," He said.

"How old are you?"

"23 ma'am."

"Don't call me ma'am. And your name?"

"John."

"John, is that message for the public, or for the board members?" I asked.

"The world Dr. Grant. They are all watching us right now. I believe that cleaning up, apologizing and reopening would be beneficial to showing them we aren't afraid of these creatures."

"What would be an appropriate timeline? After the deaths of so many, and all the hospital bills we are going to pay for each and every survivor? What time period should we give the world to learn to breathe again?" I asked, folding my arms as I paced.

The silence ensued, as I stopped in front of the window, and looked out over the resort. The white sand nearly blinding against the bright blue ocean, and I sighed as I waited for an answer. I heard shuffling papers, and tapped my foot. Half turning my body, I gave a painted look to say, "I'm waiting."

"A year. Give them time to adjust, grieve their lost loved ones, make amends and reopen."

I stared out a window of the conference room, overlooking the surf below, wondering when the next time I would actually get away from all of this.

"And, would you, in good conscience, be here in a year? For the re-opening?"

"Honestly?"

"Honestly. Would you come all the way down here after knowing the exact event that unraveled the other day?" I said to the whole board. They seemed to understand where I was coming from.

"I'd want to know it was safe."

"Right now, the only word I trust is Melissa's." Claire said suddenly.

"She has been here longer than me and knows how the animals behave. She knows their eating habits, grazing, migrating patterns, their aggression levels."

"I'd only ever trust her word, if the park was ever safe again." She said, looking right at me. The board members looked between themselves, nodding silently and even Mr. Aldrich nodded mutely.

"Mel," Jake started, "Whatever your decision, we trust your judgment."

"I wish you had trusted me with the Indominus. I could have pointed out flaws from the very beginning. The DNA strands Henry used to fill in the missing genomes? The pen's height and detection interfaces? All of this, could have been preventable."

"Now, I'm going down to my husband, to tell him that we are leaving for a few nights on the island. I will keep you all in the loop of my findings, and Ms. Dearing will be as well. The cars downstairs will take you back to the plane, whenever you'd like to leave. Your meals will be charged to my suite, so please, enjoy the food and any beverages, on me. Mr. Aldrich, please get in touch with Dr. Henry Wu and tell him that as he has been conducting unauthorized experiments for the use of the US military, his contract is terminated and he will spend the rest of his life in prison. As so states his contract, regarding the non-compete he signed back in 2004."

"And if you'd like to, throw it in there that I'm not Hammond or Masrani. I will hunt him down. I know where snakes like him hide," I said, gathering my copies of the takeover documents and saying, "Enjoy the Costa Rican sun."

As I left the conference room, Claire followed behind me, clearly impressed with how I handled myself.

"Take no shit," She whispered when we were out of earshot.

"I will not." I smiled.


	23. Chapter 23

_**A/N:**_ I do love when I can manage to pump out a chapter. But since I have no more new chapters after this, I thought you guys would appreciate a little warning. It's gonna be a few weeks before another chapter comes out. I want to build a few more up before posting one, because I feel like I'm falling behind lately, except on one particular fanfic. To be fair to you, I won't post for any of my other fanfics, except " _The Siren's Call"._ I'm sorry for the disappointment guys :(

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park or any of it's characters.

* * *

As I enjoyed the warm sun on my skin, and the salt air to my face, Owen was tracing random patterns on my flat stomach. Claire and Zara were sitting on a bench on the ferry, talking quietly to themselves. Lowery was looking at the island sadly as we approached. On the main deck, a dozen trainers with stun rods and stun rifles were getting a run down from Barry on our mission and their job. Hazard pay included. The local Coroner's office lent us the entire staff of 15, to bring back the bodies of the victims. The only one I was not going to be able to bring back was the woman that Mosie swallowed whole.

"What do you think it's going to be?" I asked Owen.

"The baby?" He asked quietly, knowing my Dad wasn't happy about my pregnancy not stopping me from coming back to the island. He was going to stay in Costa Rica for a few days and then head back home to Ithaca.

"Yeah," I smiled.

"I don't know. We've had all girls so far," He joked, and then stopped himself from smiling.

"You had no control over this situation Owen. The girls defended us, gave their lives for us."

"I know."

"What is going to convince you? Blue was heroic. Delta, Charlie and Echo, they all gave their lives to protect us."

"Well, except Echo."

"I would love nothing more, than if the girls lived through what happened. But we have to keep moving forward."

"I think it's gonna be a boy," He said, kissing my shoulder.

"What do you think?" He asked after I didn't respond.

"No preference. Just a happy, healthy baby," I whispered. He rubbed my shoulders, kissing the back of my head softly, and said, "Me too."

As we neared the ferry dock, the atmosphere changed. Owen got into Raptor Trainer Mode and I went into leader mode, I guess. My mode consisted of bossing people around, and spouting off random facts.

"Roadways would need to be repaved," I listed off to Claire, "Shops repaired or rebuilt. Mosie's guardrails should be repaired. No one get too close!"

"I would hope she's not hungry after both the Rex's." Owen joked as we walked down Main Street.

"Lowery, are you getting this?" I asked, as I looked back at him.

"I've been rolling since we've landed."

"Good. I want the world to see this." I said, as we approached the Innovation Centre.

"Lowery, you're gonna need to hand the camera off to me for a second. I need you to-"

"Boot everything up again, I got that."

"I'm gonna need a Gyrosphere or two running as well." I said as we walked up the stairs to the control room.

"I'm going to see what equipment is salvageable in the labs." Claire said, as I watched Lowery boot up the island's security fences, automatic feeders, security cameras, and rides.

"Hey Blue," I smiled, noticing the raptor's tracking implant showed she was hanging around our bungalow. She must have come across our scent and decided to wait for us.

"Daddy, go get your girl back."

"Sure thing Mama Bear," He said, kissing my temple and leaving me with Barry and our small team.

"Alright, I need your attention." I yelled.

"I'm asking a few of you to go around, canvassing the island. Lowery will use surveillance and what's left of the security fences to communicate with you on areas that are safe. I'm taking a few of you, to help me… find Mr. Masrani's remains. Whatever that helicopter crash left."

"Use the tracking implants to figure out what species survived. Assess their injuries and the state of their enclosures. Report back to Lowery and Claire will take inventory. Keep your eyes open," I said, nodding to Barry who separated from the group to motion five of the group to follow him. The others looked ahead as the board started lighting up with the remaining species.

"We've got our work cut out for us." I sighed, moving to pick up my backpack and patting Lowery on the back.

"Good luck out there Mel," He said, tossing one of his plastic dinosaurs.

"Thanks," I smiled, slipping it in my pocket.

As I walked out into the humid air, I realized I hadn't thought about our living arrangements. After this, if we ever opened again, were we going to be in the States again, or would I have to move closer to the Masrani Global HQ, in London?

The trip out to the birdcage was quiet. No one spoke a word as we rode out, watching the trees silently, stun rifles at the ready. It was eerie to only hear the herbivores and not the sounds of announcements or crowds. It reminded me of the 93' disaster, and I shuddered to myself.

Resting my hand on my stomach, I took a deep breath and tried to focus on our mission. Find Simon's remains, package them for transport, and get home. Breathe in, and out. Repeat.

As we crested the hill I saw the Aviary, and had to catch my breath. There was a faint plume of smoke, still rising in the sky, and I heard a few whispers in the back start.

"Eyes open people," I shouted, opening up the throttle. The faster we did this, the faster we could assess the island. It only took another minute to pull up next to the Aviary, braking and turning off the engine.

"Watch your six, there could be stragglers." I yelled, arming myself with a stun gun and slinging on my backpack with the sterilized metal canister in it. I told myself I was not going to put Simon into a dirty container.

If he fit.

Approaching the doors to the Aviary, I signaled through the security camera, "Are we clear in there Lowery?"

"So far, scans show nothing. I'll run another to make sure it's not buggy after being shut down for a few days." His voice said through my walkie. Slowly, I opened the door, and started to survey the area.

"Spread out." I spoke softly to the group. They started to fan out, watching behind them for anything moving, but luckily for us Lowery's voice rang out on the walkie, "All clear. Only thing there is the debris."

"Thank you, now tell me how many living animals are on the island, right now." I said, trudging through the field, over a fallen log. The crash sight was a horror, but I choked back my tears.

"Live count before I-Rex, 578. Live count currently at 405," Lowery said, and I shook my head.

"Such a waste," I sighed, as I got closer to the debris. One of my volunteers helped me over a large log, and I panted, "We are here."

I surveyed the debris to find a way inside. The twisted metal was blackened by fire, and the paint had long been burnt off, but I could still see inside. There was a partial skeletal remain in the pilot's seat, and I had to stand back for a minute.

"Lowery, what side did Vivian say Simon got into on Jurassic 001?"

"The left side, pilot's seat." His reply came, and I let my tears fall down my cheeks.

"I found him."

Silence was all I heard as I stood back and said a small prayer for Simon. Gathering my emotions and shoving them down where they wouldn't creep back up on me, I kneeled, taking my backpack off and gently prying back the metal in my way. One of my volunteers helped by holding the panel back as I snuck in to get at the remains better. The fire burned for almost 5 hours, according to Lowery's surveillance of the Aviary. So, I was very sure that whatever remained of Simon was here.

"Hand me the canister?" I asked, holding my hand out to receive it. A woman, whose name I hadn't remembered yet, handed it to me, stepping back to bow her head.

Swallowing quickly, I opened it, slipping on a pair of sterile gloves and started gently scooping the remains into the container. It was hard to determine what was Simon, and what was part of the helicopter. But after a half hour of sorting, I had gotten most of it. Sniffing quietly, I screwed the lid back on whispering, "Go in peace, my dear friend."

The panel was lifted again, so I could let the coroner do the same, but for the ACU agent, Jerry.

As I looked down at the canister, I hugged it close to my chest. I needed to get it to Ada soon, because if I didn't, his spirit wouldn't be at rest.

The ride back to Communications Center was solemn, my occasional sniffle being the most anyone heard. Lowery had told us that Owen called back saying that Blue was willing to go back to her pen. So, we now had the most dangerous carnivore behind bars, we decided that we should start looking for bodies.

I really wanted to avoid the Apatosaurus fields for a moment, so when Owen and I met back up, I told him as much. He understood, not wanting to see my children that perished at a monsters thirst for sport.

And after seeing Simon's remains, I was feeling really raw. We started mapping out where remains of fallen dinosaurs were, so that we could have teams start transporting them to the northern part of the island. I had told Simon that when the dinosaurs died, we needed some way of disposing of the bodies so that if competition got their hands on them, they couldn't recreate the embryos. So, we had a crematorium built, large enough to fit a triceratops. The Apatosaurus's would have to be… sectioned to fit, as would anything larger than a dino like Trixie.

"Well, a good first day," Lowery said as we all ate in the restaurant of the island's hotel. I found that most of the food was still quite good, and we couldn't exactly order take out from any of the abandoned restaurants. So, I took it upon myself to make us all food. The coroner's started taking the bodies back on the ferry for identification and to send them back to their families. I was holding onto Simon's remains thought, as I personally wanted to escort them to his ex-wife Ada.

"It wasn't the best day I've had on this island, but it was not the worst." I shrugged, leaning into Owen.

"Would you tell us again?" Lowery asked, looking like an excited puppy at the prospect of my ghost stories.

"Lowery," Claire snapped, and I held up a hand to say, "No, I can speak for myself. "

"It's not something I want to talk about again, especially after the last few days." I explained, and Lowery nodded.

"Yeah, sorry. That was kind of stupid of me," He said, hanging his head.

"Maybe in a couple days." I said, and he gave a small nod in approval.

"Okay, well, time to get you and the little one to bed." Owen said, rubbing my belly lightly. I smirked, "We do have a long day tomorrow, calculating rebuilding fees."

"Have a good night," Claire said, as Zara's head laid against her shoulder.

"You guys too." I said, waving goodnight to the group of handlers. They had just gotten back after ensuring the 'toddlers' had been fed. As we took the elevator up to our room, Owen laid gentle kisses on the top of my head and cheeks.

"I can't believe what went on today," I sighed.

"I'm sorry that I wasn't there to help you with looking for Simon."

"You managed to get Blue back in her pen. Impressive." I smiled, opening our door, and dropping my small backpack gently next to the bathroom door. Owen placed his own pack down, and turned to lock the door.

"Not nearly as impressive as you. You kept a clear head in there, from what the handlers told me. They are all impressed with our leadership. Normally in the wild, it's the males that protect the pack, but you are more of a mama bear than I previously thought."

"Mama bear, huh?" I smirked. He smoldered at me, gently taking my t-shirt off, and easing my shorts down my legs.

"The fiercest, deadliest mama bear." He said, guiding me into the bathroom, and turning on the water for a bath.

"You know I will protect our little cub, but you would cut down anyone that tried to come between you and your baby. Whether they are dinosaur or human. That's why they respect you, and your leadership. You recognize that these animals are creatures that deserve respect, not abuse."

"We owe it to humanity to preserve knowledge of our past. And that includes all creatures." I said, as he stripped me of my under things.

"And that's why I love you," he said seriously, "When I was training bomb dogs, I was constantly overhearing men saying that this way, they didn't have to put their lives in danger, that an animal can do it for them. They didn't respect that animals life, but you do. So now, you are going to take a relaxing bath with me, and not worry about tomorrow."

"I love you too," I said, wiping a tear gently from my cheek, as he undressed and situated himself in the giant bathtub. Carefully getting in and leaning back against his chest, I sighed in content. He washed my body gently, placing soft kisses on the crown of my head, and would occasionally rub my belly and talk to our little one.

And within minutes, I had fallen asleep contently.


	24. Chapter 24

_**A/N:**_ Hello faithful readers! Long time, I know... Some of my other stories took priority, and I was waiting to see JW:FK before proceeding. It gave me a great plot point, and now I am refreshed and ready to work.

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Universal, Jurassic Park, or any content from the books or movies.

* * *

Five weeks later, clean up was almost done, and I had a decision to make. If I should reopen in a year. Owen liked the idea of going back to the States, and me just running Masrani Global. But I had been here over 10 years, and it was hard to imagine leaving. We already had to go back Stateside for my doctor's appointments, with flying back and forth to oversee the clean up process. Owen was helpful though, saying that only he and Barry knew how to handle Blue, and if I decided to reopen, we'd make it work. The only issue was where would we raise our baby. On the island with dinosaurs, or on the mainland, with us commuting and needing a daycare during the day? Plus, I wasn't always going to be able to be in Costa Rica. Running the company meant I would be traveling a lot.

Owen offered a solution. If I could, make myself available for video conference versus having to physically be in the meetings. And if it was imperative I be somewhere, I would go. That still left me with questions about the park, if we should even open. Clean up was going very well, or as well as it could be considering the circumstances. Lawyers were calling me left and right to discuss my options for the survivors and our shareholders. All I would say is that I would rather bankrupt us paying hospital bills, than giving money to shareholders when we weren't making any.

Claire was diligent about her promise to propose to Zara, looping me in on all her details and asking me for my advice on a ring. She took her out in the valley one day, using one of the trucks to get to a secret spot that I loved. They came back later, crying and hugging, and over the moon at their prospective future together.

"OWEN!" I yelled up to him on the Raptor catwalk. He looked over and smiled down at me.

"Hey darlin'. What can I do for you?" He called.

"You can come have lunch. I'm starving," I laughed, showing him the bagged lunch I had for us.

"Be down in a second. Blue, I'll be right back," He yelled to the raptor. I heard her responding chuff and smiled.

As I walked into the office, I smiled at the wedding picture Owen had on his desk. He really was a romantic, but liked to cover it up with a macho façade.

"Hey darlin'. And hey baby," He smiled, rubbing my belly.

"What's she up to today?" I chuckled, pulling out our lunch from the bag.

"Getting restless," He huffed.

"Not digging anymore right?" I asked, worried. I was smart when I had the paddocks built, by pouring a foundation and then filling it in with dirt and plants. Blue didn't know that, but I hated seeing her so lost.

"Nah. She's just in need of a playmate," He smiled, and I shook my head.

"Not until I can decrypt Wu's notes. But we might have a bigger problem," I said, frowning at what Lowery just told me this morning.

"What's that?"

"So, I'm not sure how to tell you this, but John didn't have a seismic study done on the island, and neither did Simon. So when I requested one, there was one major red flag that came up," I said, trying to breath normally.

"What's that?" HE asked again, not following. I pulled him over to a vista point beside the raptor pen and said, "Do you see that mountain?"

"Yeah."

"That is an active volcano," I said in a small voice.

"Oh shit."

"Yeah, and any minor tremors could potentially lead to the top cracking open and half the island could be engulfed," I said, rubbing my forehead.

"So, just don't do any major construction," He reasoned.

"Not even construction. Basically, if a tectonic plate shifted 300 m off our west coast, the dinosaurs go extinct again. The lava would be one thing, but the ash cloud… no animal would survive if it's as big as this guy says."

"So basically we abandon the island," He said, confused as to what I was saying.

"No, we evacuate. This time, everything leaves," I said, thinking about the headache I was in for.

"Where?" He asked, "Where on earth could we put over 400 dinosaurs without-"

"Isla Sorna. Site B."

* * *

My headache grew exponentially after talking to the board. There was no way around this. If we reopened, it wouldn't be on Isla Nublar. We would be starting from the ground up again. Most of the dinosaurs would be easy to transport over, but our problem was Mosie. She was about the size of a blue whale, and deadly. I couldn't justify building her another paddock and the expense of figuring out a way of transporting her. So after looking over the figures, the logic of bringing her and how badly we needed to downsize on the new island at first, she was to be put down. I didn't know how on earth we would do such a thing, because it's not like we could just administer the usual dose of pentobarbital.

So, to be as humane as possible, we decided to give her one last shark, filled with a cocktail of drugs that would put her down gently. I stood in the underwater stand for almost two hours, waiting for a sign that it was over, that one of the beasts that saved us only months ago was at rest. All of the sudden, her body stopped moving. I walked up to the glass, seeing her eyes moving frantically. That was the paralytic that hit her first, and then the pentobarbital. Without her fins moving, her body started to sink, crashing to the paddock floor, on top of the skeletal remains of Rexy and the I-Rex.

It was another hour later that we had her sectioned up for cremation, and divers sent down to retrieve the skeletons of Rexy and the abomination. I wouldn't allow anyone the chance of recreating that monster.

"Mel!" Lowery said over a radio.

"Yeah?"

"We need you back at Command. Claire says the board wants a detailed plan for transport and containment."

"Well, they are going to wait, because I can't give them anything until I see Sorna for myself."

"Wait, you can't go over there alone!"

"After what happened with my Dad in 1998, InGen was forced to put all the dinosaur roaming the island down. It's a graveyard. Call a chopper from the mainland, because I need to do a fly over," I said, walking down the ruins of Main Street.

"Oh. I thought-"

"You can tell Owen, cause I know he is there beside you, to quit worrying and come pick me up from the bottom of the hill. My feet hurt."

"He'll be there in a minute," Lowery said, sounding chastised.

"I miss my bike," I sighed to myself as I hung up. I stopped at the Innovation Centre, realizing that this might be all for naught. It would cost over a billion alone to clean up Sorna and rebuild it for a park. We had already paid out over 60 million in medical bills for those injured by the I-Rex escape. Maybe we were better leaving them alone on the island. Maybe nature didn't want the dinosaurs to have another chance?

 _This isn't some species that was obliterated by deforestation or the building of a dam. Dinosaurs had their shot and Nature selected them for extinction!_

Pulling out my phone, I dialled quickly from my contacts and waited for a familiar voice to pick up.

"How are you doing sweetheart?" His voice sounded.

"I'm okay. Uncle, I just need some advice. Do you remember what you said to Hammond all those years ago, in the lab?"

" _About what? I say a lot of things honey_ ," Ian laughed to himself.

"About nature finding a way. About how dinosaurs had their shot."

" _It's a little late for that line of questioning, don't you think?_ "

"No, it's just… I learned something recently about Nublar that might kill them all off again. My question is, am I right to give them a fighting chance now? Am I any better than InGen, wondering if I could or not, rather than if I should?"

" _Mel, honey, put aside the fact we faced events we shouldn't have. Put aside our degrees, our PhD's, our trauma. What does your gut say, about saving the remaining dinosaurs to roam the earth?_ "

I was silent a moment, before letting out a breath I had been holding.

" _Got your answer? Don't tell me. I want to see if I'm right in the end._ "

"Thank you for your wise counsel," I smirked.

" _You're welcome. Just remember, I'm rooting for you honey._ "

"Say hi to Kelly for me. And Noelle and Jasper."

" _Hopefully you'll be in DC soon. We'll all go out for dinner._ "

"I would love that," I said as I heard the roar of a jeep getting closer, "Love you."

" _Love you too honey. Say hi to Owen for me._ "

"I will. Bye," I said, before hanging up.

"Take a jeep next time honey," Owen's voice said as he pulled up beside me.

"I didn't think my feet would hurt this much, this far into the pregnancy."

He was quiet as he turned around, avoiding debris as he maneuvered back onto the personnel road. I reached over and took his hand, "How was she today?"

"Better. She didn't attack the gate when I went in to see her."

"Crazy man. But I'm glad she is better. Hopefully one day, we can let her roam in a bigger paddock," I said, looking out the window.

"Hey," he said, tugging on my hand gently, "Where are you at?"

"I talked with Uncle Ian. He says hi," I said as an after thought.

"Hi back," He chuckled, "And what about?"

"I was just having an internal crisis, about something I remembered he had said to Hammond. How InGen was so concerned with if they could make dinosaurs again or not, that they didn't ask themselves if they _should_."

"You don't think we should take them to Sorna."

"No. My gut says to take them. My stupid logical brain was concerned with the cost of it. What if we reopen and it flops?"

"Well, then it flops. Masrani Global would recover, InGen might be in the toilet though."

"That's my point. I not only have to think of the well being of over 400 creatures, but a company's last shot before yet another disaster. I am responsible for living things and a company. I don't think Simon was thinking straight when he named me his successor."

"I think he was," Owen said as we stopped outside the Command Centre.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you have a conscious. You are worried for the lives of the animals that company created. They don't care if they died, only if they were making them money."

"So, my conscious is clear. We do a fly over today and draw out a rough map for a new park. But I think we should leave the theatrical stuff for later. Basics, more of the biological preserve that Hammond originally dreamed."

"Okay, but you need to take it easy after this."

"Of course! I'm not crazy. My feet hurt, so I will be putting them up after our fly over with a glass of lemonade."

"Well, we can put your feet up together," Owen smirked. I laughed, "You have a dirty mind."

"Never bothered you before," He chuckled.

"True," I smiled, taking his hand. He kissed my knuckles lightly, before saying, "If it's any conciliation, I'm proud of you. You are handling this with grace."

"It's not a conciliation, it's just what I needed. Thank you," I said, closing my eyes and enjoying the ride. Lowery was at the door waiting for us, "So I got you a copter from the mainland, should be here tomorrow morning at 9am. Claire also has Andy coming out to help draw up plans based on the islands geography."

"When was the last survey again?"

"Two years ago. They recommended a seismic study as well, but Simon opted to pass at that point," He said sadly.

"Okay, well call them in. Hopefully for next week," I said, before he nodded and walked off. Owen led me to my office, urging me to sit down on the couch to rest.

"So, do you think we should discuss names?" He asked pulling a chair up in front of me for my feet, before sitting down beside me.

"I think that's a fair assumption. Since I'm past the first trimester now, I would hope that was next on our baby list," I teased. Our conversation turned lighter, steering away from stressful subjects such as if Jurassic World would even reopen and how we would be raising our child in the midst of building a new park. Owen knew just how to distract me.


End file.
